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EULOGY 


ON 


JOHN    PICKERING,  LL.  D., 


BY 


DANIEL    APPLETON    WHITE. 


EULOGY 


ON 


JOHN    PICKERING,  LL.  D., 


PRESIDENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY   OF   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES. 


DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  ACADEMY, 


OCTOBER  28,  1846, 


By  DANIEL    APPLETON    WHITE, 


FELLOW    OF    THE     ACADEMY. 


^u!)lfs!)eti  hv  ®xtitx  of  t|)e  ^catrcmj. 


CAMBRIDGE: 
METCALF    AND    COMPANY, 

PRINTERS   TO   THE    UNIVERSITY. 

1847. 


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EULOGY 


Mr.  President,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  American  Academy 
OF  Arts  and  Sciences, — 

Among  all  the  works  of  God,  I  know  of  no  object 
of  contemplation  more  delightful  than  a  beautiful  hu- 
man character,  pure  and  lovely,  ennobled  by  Christian 
virtues,  and  adorned  by  the  accomplishments  of  mind. 
Such  was  eminently  the  character  of  our  late  beloved 
associate  and  President,  John  Pickering,  whose  death 
we  have  been  called  to  deplore,  and  whose  distin- 
guished worth  we  have  come  together  to  contemplate 
and  honor.  The  reluctance  which,  as  some  of  you 
know,  I  felt  at  becoming  your  organ  on  this  affecting 
occasion,  arose  from  my  conscious  inability  to  do  jus- 
tice to  his  profound  erudition  ;  but  the  charm  of  his 
character  overcame  my  reluctance,  and  if  I  can  suc- 
ceed in  drawing  a  faithful  portrait  of  his  life  and  vir- 
tues, I  shall  rely  on  your  goodness  to  pardon  the  im- 
perfect sketch  I  may  give  of  his  talents  and  learning. 

That  noble-hearted  man,  the  late  Judge  Lowell,  in 
commencing  his  eulogy  on   the  first  President  of  the 


MS0771.6 


American  Academy,  recognizes  the  obligation  "  to 
trace  the  path  of  the  great,  the  virtuous,  and  the  wise, 
through  all  their  exertions  for  the  benefit  of  mankind, 
and  to  portray  their  characters  as  an  example  to  the 
world."  This,  doubtless,  is  the  highest  purpose  of 
eulogy,  and  most  worthy  both  of  the  living  and  the 
dead.  The  memory  of  great  and  good  men  is  most 
truly  honored  by  that  which,  at  the  same  time,  most 
benefits  the  world,  —  the  study  and  practice  of  their 
virtues. 

You  will  allow  me,  therefore.  Gentlemen,  in  seek- 
ing to  pay  this  true  honor  to  the  memory  of  one  who 
so  richly  deserved  it,  whose  life  was  so  invariably  vir- 
tuous, and  who  rendered  himself  so  eminently  wise 
and  useful,  to  give  especial  attention  to  those  virtues 
and  exalted  principles  which  enabled  him  to  achieve 
his  unsullied  fame,  and  which  may  enable  others, 
stimulated  by  his  example,  to  pursue  a  like  honorable 
career.  Such  a  manner  of  proceeding  on  this  occa- 
sion well  accords  with  the  high  ultimate  design  of 
the  American  Academy;  —  "to  cultivate  every  art 
and  science  which  may  tend  to  advance  the  interest, 
honor,  dignity,  and  happiness  of  a  free  and  independ- 
ent people."  Of  all  arts  conducing  to  this  great 
end,  the  most  important,  certainly,  is  the  art  of  human 
improvement,  and  the  most  excellent  of  sciences  is 
the  science  of  a  good  life.  And  both  are  best  studied 
from  original  models  of  excellence.  Biography,  still 
more  than  history,  is  philosophy  teaching  by  example 


the  lessons  of  wisdom ;  but,  to  fulfil  its  office,  it  must 
teach  in  the  spirit  of  philosophy,  and  unfold  the  means 
and  inculcate  the  principles  upon  which  progress  in 
excellence  essentially  depends.  The  life  which  is  now 
presented  for  our  contemplation,  if  exhibited  with  that 
truth  and  simplicity  which  were  so  remarkably  its 
ornaments,  would  beautifully  illustrate  the  lessons  of 
wisdom,  and  make  her  ways  as  clear  to  the  studious 
mind,  as  they  are  pleasant  to  the  upright  in  heart. 
We  care  little  for  the  mere  possession  of  talents  or 
genius ;  real  merit  is  above  them  both.  And  where 
shall  we  look  for  one  who  in  the  meritorious  use  of 
talents  is  greater  than  our  departed  friend  ?  Such  a 
life  as  his  cannot  be  traced  too  minutely,  from  its 
dawn  to  its  close.  Genius  and  eloquence  have  al- 
ready, on  various  occasions,  bestowed  a  rich  and  glow- 
ing eulogy  on  the  learned  jurist,  the  man  of  science, 
of  letters,  and  of  worth,  leaving  us,  in  echoing  the 
voice  of  praise,  little  more  to  do  than  to  enforce  its 
justness,  and  to  gather  what  instruction  we  may  from 
the  virtues  which  have  called  it  forth.*  The  simple 
truth.  Gentlemen,  bestows  the  highest  eulogy  on  our 
lamented  President,  while  it  affords  us  the  truest  con- 
solation and  the  best  instruction. 

*  See  the  noble  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Pickering,  con- 
tained in  the  Law  Reporter  (Vol.  IX.,  p.  49),  from  the  gifted  pen 
of  Charles  Sumner,  Esq.  ;  also  his  admired  Address  he/ore  the 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  of  Harvard  University,  at  their  Anni- 
versary, August  27,  1846. 


John  Pickering  was  the  eldest  of  ten  children  of 
the  late  Colonel  Timothy  and  Rebecca  White  Pick- 
ering, and  was  born  on  the  7th  day  of  February, 
1777.  His  ancestors  were  of  a  most  worthy  char- 
acter. The  first  of  them  known  in  this  country  was 
John  Pickering,  who  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Salem,  and  in  1642  bought  of  Sir  George  Downing's 
father  the  farm  on  Broad  street  in  that  town,  which 
has  ever  since  descended  in  the  male  line  of  the  fami- 
ly, and  always,  except  in  a  single  instance,  has  been 
owned  by  a  John  Pickering,  as  it  still  continues  to 
be.  On  it  stands  the  ancient  and  picturesque  man- 
sion, the  late  summer  residence  of  our  deceased 
friend,  who  by  his  skilful  arrangements  converted  the 
greater  portion  of  the  farm  into  a  beautiful  and  flour- 
ishing village. 

Colonel  Pickering  was  a  vigilant  and  devoted  father, 
but  his  whole  soul  was  so  absorbed  in  his  country 
at  that  alarming  crisis  of  her  affairs,  that  he  could 
bestow  but  a  transient  attention  upon  his  son's  early 
culture.  Fortunately  for  this  son,  he  was,  like  Sir 
William  Jones,  whom  in  other  respects  he  so  strongly 
resembled,  blessed  with  a  mother  in  every  way  qual- 
ified to  fulfil  the  duties  of  both  parents.  In  his  in- 
telligent, docile,  and  sweet  disposition  she  beheld  the 
image  of  her  own  gentle  spirit,  and  she  could  not 
fail  in  all  her  intercourse  with  him  to  exert  a  pro- 
pitious influence  upon  his  opening  mind  and  charac- 
ter.    He  had  an  excellent  uncle,  too,  the  Honorable 


John  Pickering,  who  lived  in  Salem,  and  who  in- 
dulged for  him  all  the  feelings  of  a  parent.  John  and 
Timothy  Pickering  were  only  brothers,  and  their  souls 
were  knit  together  in  the  closest  friendship.  Both 
were  zealous  Whig  patriots,  renowned  for  their  in- 
tegrity and  steadfastness.  John  was  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1759,  four  years  before  his  young- 
er brother,  and  was  one  of  the  original  founders  of  the 
American  Academy.  He  sustained  various  important 
public  trusts,  and  at  the  time  of  his  nephew's  infancy 
was  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. They  had  seven  sisters,  all  of  whom  were 
married  and  had  families,  some  of  which  were  highly 
distinguished.  Young  John,  bearing  the  favorite  an- 
cestral name,  and  possessing  uncommon  attractions, 
was  the  object  of  observation  as  well  as  interest, 
without  being  exposed  to  those  fond  and  admiring  at- 
tentions which  are  so  apt  to  foster  vanity  and  selfish- 
ness. 

As  it  is  our  desire  to  show  from  his  example  how 
characters  like  his  may  be  formed,  where  natural  gifts 
like  his  are  bestowed,  and  how  human  excellence  is 
best  attained,  whatever  may  be  the  endowments  of 
nature,  we  shall  freely  avail  ourselves  of  the  most  au- 
thentic information  we  possess,  without  using  the 
family  correspondence,  of  the  early  development  of  his 
faculties  and  the  progress  of  his  education.  There 
are  four  periods  which  deserve  distinct  attention ;  — 
the  five  or  six  years  of  childhood,  before  he  went  to 


8 

any  school ;  his  years  at  school ;  his  four  years  in  col- 
lege ;  and  his  four  following  years  abroad. 

The  first  of  these  periods,  though  so  little  thought 
of  generally,  was  to  him,  perhaps,  next  in  importance 
to  his  college  life,  for  in  it  was  laid  the  foundation  of 
his  character  and  intellectual  habits.  Providence  ap- 
pears to  have  ordered  the  circumstances  of  it  better 
for  his  improvement  than  human  wisdom  would  have 
done.  He  was  in  no  common  degree  qualified  by  na- 
ture, both  in  his  physical  and  mental  constitution,  for 
self-direction  and  self-cultivation.  His  senses,  par- 
ticularly his  sight,  hearing,  and  touch,  were  acute  and 
delicate ;  so,  too,  were  all  his  faculties  and  feelings. 
He  had  a  curiosity  all  alive,  together  with  a  memory 
quick  and  retentive.  His  mechanical  ingenuity  was 
as  early  manifested  as  his  intellectual  vigor.  Happy 
was  it  for  him,  that  he  was  exposed  to  no  luxurious 
gratifications  or  excessive  indulgences  of  any  kind. 
Happy,  too,  probably,  that  he  had  no  teacher  but  his 
mother,  aided  by  the  influence  of  his  admirable  father, 
and  that  he  was  in  so  great  a  degree  left  to  be  his 
own  teacher. 

During  this  period,  his  father,  being  attached  to  the 
Revolutionary  army,  had  no  fixed  place  of  abode  for 
his  family,  and  they  resided  successively  at  Salem, 
Philadelphia,  Newburgh,  and  then  again  at  Philadel- 
phia and  in  its  vicinity.  It  was  not  till  their  second 
residence  at  Philadelphia  that  a  good  school  could  be 
obtained  for  John,  which  was  a  subject  of  frequent 


regret  with  his  mother,  but  doubtless  all  the  better 
for  him.  His  lively  curiosity  and  love  of  knowledge 
had  become  remarkable  before  he  was  two  years  old, 
evinced  particularly  by  a  continued  attention  and  in- 
terest in  his  observation  of  things.  Nearly  at  the 
same  time  he  commenced  his  philological  career.  Of 
his  own  accord  he  took  it  into  his  head  to  learn  to 
read ;  and,  at  the  age  of  two  years,  he  cotild  repeat 
the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  and  in  speaking  would 
readily  join  adjectives  and  verbs  to  his  nouns.  Be- 
fore he  was  five  years  old,  he  could  read  without 
spelling,  and  spell  without  book,  rarely  missing  a 
word  which  he  had  once  read,  however  little  affinity 
the  letters  might  have  to  the  sound.  Such  was  the 
self-taught  infant  philologist. 

We  allude  to  these  facts,  not  as  being  very  won- 
derful in  themselves,  but  as  illustrating  his  natural 
powers  and  turn  of  mind,  as  well  as  his  intellectual 
habits.  His  early  devotion  to  learning  led  directly  to 
those  habits  of  observation,  attention,  and  applica- 
tion, which  were  among  his  greatest  advantages  as  a 
scholar.  Equally  fortunate  was  he  in  the  early  de- 
velopment of  his  affections  and  his  moral  nature.  Be- 
sides the  kindest  care,  he  received  the  most  judicious 
religious  nurture,  and  constantly  enjoyed  the  influence 
of^  examples  which  tended  to  produce  in  him  the  gen- 
erous and  noble  virtues.  It  was  perfectly  natural  that 
he  should  become  what  he  was,  truly  magnanimous, 
and  one  of  the  most  unselfish  of  human  beings. 
2 


10 

Thus  prepared  by  himself,  under  the  eye  of  his 
mother,  he  entered  his  first  school  at  Philadelphia 
when  he  was  about  six  years  of  age.  His  aptitude 
for  wisdom  and  goodness,  as  well  as  for  learning,  had 
already  inspired  entire  confidence,  and  disposed  his 
parents  to  seek  for  him  the  best  advantages  of  educa- 
tion. At  this  school,  in  addition  to  the  usual  Eng- 
lish exercises,  he  attended  to  the  French  language, 
and  pursued  his  studies  with  so  much  ardor  and  close- 
ness of  application,  that  some  relaxation  became  neces- 
sary for  his  health.  With  a  view  to  this,  his  father, 
in  1786,  sent  him  on  a  visit  to  his  uncle  and  other 
friends  in  Salem.  He  took  only  his  French  books 
with  him,  expecting  soon  to  return.  But  it  was 
otherwise  ordered.  His  uncle,  who  had  now  retired 
from  public  life,  and  was  living  on  the  family  estate 
with  a  widowed  sister  and  her  only  daughter,  never 
having  been  married  himself,  became  so  attached  to 
his  beloved  nephew,  that  he  could  not  consent  to  part 
with  him.  Without  formally  adopting  him,  he  ever 
after  treated  him  as  a  son,  and  never  was  any  parent 
more  blessed  in  an  own  son. 

John,  thus  made  a  fixed  resident  in  Salem,  at  the 
age  of  nine  years,  soon  resumed  his  studies  with  re- 
newed health  and  energy.  His  character,  having  re- 
ceived such  a  powerful  impulse  in  the  right  direction, 
could  not  fail  to  be  carried  forward  in  strength  as  well 
as  excellence  under  the  somewhat  sterner  influences 
which  were  now  brought  to  bear  upon  him.     In  his 


11 

uncle,  alike  dignified,  wise,  and  affectionate,  he  found 
the  best  of  domestic  guides.  His  master  in  the  Latin 
Grammar  School  was  Belcher  Noyes,  an  experienced 
teacher,  and  a  man  of  some  classical  learning,  as  it 
would  seem  from  a  Latin  grammar  of  which  he  was 
the  author.  His  writing-master  was  Edward  Norris, 
of  whom  he  took  lessons  every  day,  for  some  length 
of  time,  with  complete  success.  He  was  remarkable 
for  his  handwriting  before  he  left  Philadelphia,  and 
it  deserves  notice  here  as  one  of  his  distinguished 
literary  accomplishments.  The  handwriting,  it  has 
been  said,  indicates  the  writer's  character.  In  him, 
certainly,  both  were  alike  clear,  simple,  and  beautiful. 
Nothing  perplexing  was  ever  found  either  in  his  chi- 
rography  or  his  character.  The  rank  which  he  speed- 
ily attained  as  a  classical  scholar  was  high,  as  might 
be  inferred  from  a  fact  related  by  a  venerable  gen- 
tleman, now  living,  —  which  deserves  remembrance, 
too,  as  having  served  to  swell  the  tide  of  good  in- 
fluences then  bearing  upon  him.  When  President 
Washington  visited  Salem,  in  1789,  young  Pickering 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Latin  school  in  the  pro- 
cession on  that  occasion.  What  more  powerful  in- 
centive to  all  that  is  good  and  great  could  he  have 
received,  than  the  honor  of  thus  meeting  the  saviour 
of  his  country  and  his  father's  friend  ?    ^ 

Thomas  Bancroft,  a  true  scholar./and  gentleman 
from  Harvard  College,  afterward/ the  distinguished 
Clerk  of  the  Judicial   Courts  \yi  Essex  county,  sue- 


12 

ceeded  Mr.  Noyes  in  the  Latin  Grammar  School, 
and  completed  Mr.  Pickering's  preparation  for  the 
University.  In  this  excellent  instructer  he  found  a 
no  less  excellent  friend,  for  whom  he  cherished  a  high 
regard.  But,  though  fitted  for  college  by  Mr.  Ban- 
croft, he  was  offered  for  admission  by  his  father,  who 
took  the  liveliest  delight  in  his  son's  character  and 
scholarship,  and  came  from  Philadelphia,  probably 
on  purpose  to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  presenting  him 
to  the  University  at  Cambridge.  After  being  honora- 
bly admitted,  in  July,  1792,  he  accompanied  his  father 
to  Philadelphia,  where  he  passed  a  happy  vacation. 

On  leaving  his  parents  to  join  his  class  at  Cam- 
bridge, he  did  not  leave  behind  him  their  good  influ- 
ence, which  was  blended  with  all  his  thoughts  and 
feelings,  and  kept  alive  by  an  affectionate  and  frank 
correspondence  with  his  father.  He  found,  too,  at  the 
University  a  never-failing  supply  of  good  counsel  from 
the  friendship  of  his  cousin,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Clarke  of 
Boston,  who  took  a  deep  interest  in  his  welfare,  and 
was  honored  by  him  as  his  "  oracle."  He  found  also 
in  his  teachers  and  guides  —  in  Willard,  Tappan, 
Pearson,  Webber,  and  their  associates  —  men  of  piety 
as  well  as  learning,  whose  whole  example  and  influ- 
ence pointed  to  heaven,  and  led  the  way. 

These  were  distinguished  advantages,  but  not  more 
distinguished  than  were  his  fidelity  and  wisdom  in 
the  improvement  of  them.  Dr.  Clarke  introduces 
those  beautiful  "  Letters  to  a  Student  in  the  Univer- 


13 

sity  of  Cambridge,"  which  were  addressed  to  him,  by 
alluding  to  other  peculiar  advantages.  "Your  supe- 
rior qualifications,"  he  says,  <'for  admission  into  the 
University  give  you  singular  advantages  for  the  pros- 
ecution of  your  studies."  "  Happy  for  you,  they  who 
superintended  your  education  were  less  anxious  that 
you  should  be  early  fitted  than  that  you  should  be 
well  fitted  for  the  University.  You  were,  therefore, 
indulged  with  a  year  extraordinary  in  preparatory 
studies."  "  Thus  informed,  you  begin  the  college  life 
with  every  advantage.  You  have  anticipated  the 
academical  studies,  and,  if  you  persevere,  your  future 
improvements  must  be  answerable  to  your  present 
acquisitions.  Four  important  years  are  now  before 
you." 

Important  years  indeed,  —  for  good  or  for  evil !  To 
John  Pickering  they  were  full-fraught  with  good.  To 
some  others  they  have  proved  calamitous.  How  is 
this  to  be  accounted  for?  Here,  Gentlemen,  is  a 
problem  worthy  of  your  Christian  philanthropy,  and 
your  most  profound  philosophical  wisdom.  What  prob- 
lem in  the  material  world  has  stronger  claims  on  your 
attention,  as  men  of  science  and  learning,  pledged  to 
advance  the  best  interests  of  humanity?  Since  the 
institution  of  your  Academy,  many  of  its  expressed 
objects  of  scientific  inquiry  have  been  successively 
assumed  by  other  associations  specially  devoted  to 
them.  Why,  then,  may  you  not  give  attention  to 
some  of  your  implied  duties,  and  pursue  inquiries  in 


14 

the  intellectual  and  moral  world,  —  inquiries  alike 
practical  and  philosophical,  and  more  immediately 
connected  with  the  loftiest  object  of  your  institu- 
tion, —  the  advancement  of  the  honor,  dignity,  and 
happiness  of  a  free  people  ?  Might  not  the  laws  of 
man's  moral  nature  be  more  clearly  understood  ? 
Might  not  the  knowledge  of  them  be  made  more 
effectual  for  the  attainment  of  his  best  education  ? 
Such  inquiries  would  seem  particularly  appropriate  to 
the  American  Academy,  which  was  originally  de- 
signed to  be  subservient  to  the  great  objects  of  our 
venerable  University. 

I  pray  you.  Gentlemen,  to  pardon  this  suggestion, 
and  accept  it  as  my  apology,  if  I  should  appear  to 
pay  a  disproportioned  attention  to  Mr.  Pickering's 
academical  life. 

His  advantages,  upon  entering  the  University, 
were  certainly  great,  and  in  some  respects  peculiar. 
But  they  did  not  consist  in  his  extraordinary  intel- 
lectual acquirements,  or  his  fine  natural  powers,  or  in 
both  together,  so  much  as  in  his  complete  moral  and 
religious  training,  his  cherished  love  of  learning,  his 
correct  habits,  his  filial  piety,  which  made  the  wishes 
of  his  parents  and  uncle  his  own,  and  that  wisdom,  so 
rare  in  youth,  which  led  him  to  follow  experienced 
guides  rather  than  prejudiced  companions,  and  not 
only  to  shun  all  noxious  habits,  but,  like  his  proto- 
type, Sir  William  Jones,  to  avail  himself  of  every 
"  opportunity  of  improving  his  intellectual   faculties, 


15 

or  of  acquiring  esteemed  accomplishments."  Such 
as  these  were  his  preeminent  advantages.  Some  of 
those  students  who  have  most  signally  failed  in  their 
collegiate  course  were,  like  him,  distinguished  for 
their  mental  powers  and  preparatory  acquirements, 
wanting  only  his  moral  strength  and  his  wisdom. 
How  it  might  have  been  with  him,  had  his  mother, 
instead  of  her  gentle  religious  nurture,  given  him  les- 
sons of  frivolity  and  fashion,  and  had  his  father  and 
his  uncle  been  as  observable  for  their  selfish  indulgen- 
ces as  they  were  remarkable  for  their  public  and 
private  virtues  and  their  exalted  Christian  character, 
and  had  his  teachers,  moreover,  instilled  into  him 
the  poison  of  an  irreligious  example,  we  can  only 
conjecture.  So,  too,  we  can  only  conjecture  what 
sort  of  a  character  King  George  the  Fourth  might 
have  become,  had  he  received  the  nurture  and  educa- 
tion which  blessed  the  youth  of  John  Pickering.  But 
while  we  believe  that  the  laws  of  the  moral  uni- 
verse are  as  fixed  in  their  operation  as  those  of  the 
material  world,  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  result,  in 
either  case,  would  have  been  essentially  the  reverse 
of  what  it  was. 

Mr.  Pickering  entered  the  University  at  a  juncture 
when  all  his  strength  of  principle  and  all  his  wisdom 
were  needed  to  guide  him  through  the  trying  scenes 
that  awaited  him.  The  tempests  of  excitement  and 
disorder  swept  over  his  class,  in  their  Sophomore 
year,   prostrating    numbers   of   them    apparently   as 


16 

strong  as  himself.  Expulsion,  rustication,  suspen- 
sion, all  followed  in  rapid  succession,  for  offences  to 
which  nothing  could  have  prompted  the  student  but 
those  maddening  stimulants,  the  plague  of  which  no 
one  then  knew  how  to  stay.  Pickering's  virtuous 
sensibility  was  outraged  by  the  terrific  ravages  of  this 
moral  plague,  as  he  manifested  at  the  time  by  a  char- 
acteristic expression  of  his  abhorrence,  —  quoting  those 
emphatic  lines  of  Virgil :  — 

"  Non,  mihi  si  linguae  centum  sint  oraque  centum, 
Ferrea  vox,  omnes  scelerum  comprendere  formas 

possim." 

It  was  at  this  period  that  the  late  Judge  Lowell, 
then  one  of  the  corporate  body  of  the  University, 
declared  the  exalted  sentiment,  that,  rather  than  en- 
dure such  evils  among  the  students,  he  would  send 
them  off  till  he  had  made  college  a  perfect  chasm,  and 
then  start  anew  on  the  right  ground. 

Pickering's  moral  indignation,  however,  bore  no 
unkindness  to  his  offending  fellow-students.  His 
heart  teemed  with  sentiments  of  candor,  generosity, 
and  true  honor.  Nothing  of  the  ascetic  or  recluse 
appeared  in  his  disposition  or  manners.  He  mingled 
freely  with  his  classmates  in  their  pleasures  and  sports, 
their  "jests  and  youthful  jollities,"  insisting  only,  that, 
so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  they  should  be  innocent 
and  proper.  And  this  was  a  condition  exacted  by  his 
very  nature,  unconsciously  as  it  were  to  himself. 
His   simplicity  and   singleness  of  heart  were  as  re- 


17 

markable  as  his  purity  and  elevation  of  mind.  He 
joined  the  various  social  as  well  as  literary  clubs,  even 
the  gayest  of  them,  the  more  readily,  doubtless,  from 
the  very  cause  which  might  have  restrained  others,  — 
a  natural  diffidence,  which  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  over- 
come. The  musical  club,  or  Sodality,  was  best  suited 
to  his  tasie.  and  afforded  him  the  highest  gratification. 
He  cultivated  music  with  delight,  both  as  an  art  and 
as  a  science,  and  was  distinguished  in  college  for  his 
performance  on  the  flute  and  the  violin,  as  well  as  for 
his  skill  in  vocal  harmony.  As  president  of  the  Sodal- 
ity, he  introduced  an  improved  style  of  music  in  their 
performances.  Social  music  became  his  favorite  di- 
version, affording  him  through  life  a  lively  enjoyment 
and  recreation. 

In  the  whole  course  of  his  studies,  he  manifested  a 
genuine  independence  and  a  wise  foresight,  as  well 
as  an  energetic  industry.  Upon  his  entrance  into 
college,  he  was  surprised  to  find  in  what  low  estima- 
tion classical  learning  was  held  by  the  students. 
Scarcely  one  among  them  could  be  found  to  do  it 
reverence.  The  times,  however,  were  very  peculiar. 
The  innovating  spirit  of  the  French  Revolution  was 
raging  in  the  world,  and  ancient  learning,  least  of  all, 
could  expect  to  escape  its  baleful  influence. 

But  no  example  or  influence  could  tempt  Mr.  Pick- 
ering to  forsake  his  first  love.  He  faltered  not  for  a 
moment  in  his  devotion  to  a  liberal  pursuit  of  classical 
studies,  thoroughly  mastering  those  embraced  by  his 
3 


18 

stated  exercises,  and  extending  his  knowledge  much 
farther  both  of  ancient  languages  and  the  literature 
contained  in  them.  In  all  his  voluntary  studies  he 
loved  to  have  friendly  companions,  and  his  literary 
attractions  failed  not  to  draw  them  to  him.  One  of 
my  respected  classmates,  a  learned  scholar  and  divine 
of  this  city,  who  sympathized  with  Mr.  Pickering  in 
all  his  philological  researches,  has  told  me  of  the  de- 
lightful hours  they  passed  together  at  Cambridge  in 
reading  various  classic  authors;  and  he  remembers 
another  classmate  as  having  been  attracted  to  join 
them,  now  as  distinguished  at  the  American  bar  as  he 
then  was  in  college.  He  remembers,  also,  the  grat- 
ification with  which  they  welcomed  the  addition  to 
their  number  of  a  fine  classical  scholar  from  England, 
who  entered  Mr.  Pickering's  class  at  an  advanced 
period,  and  most  heartily  sustained  him  in  his  favorite 
studies.  I  take  pleasure  in  alluding  to  these  bright 
examples,  as  being  illustrative  not  only  of  Mr.  Picker- 
ing's character  and  influence,  but  also  of  the  tendency 
of  classical  learning  itself  to  produce  such  examples. 
These  favorite  studies,  however,  were  not  allowed 
to  occupy  more  than  their  due  proportion  of  Mr. 
Pickering's  time  in  college.  The  mathematics  and 
natural  philosophy  were  studied  by  him  with  scarcely 
less  ardor,  and  with  equal  success;  nor  was  any 
branch  of  learning  overlooked  by  him,  which  he  had 
an  opportunity  to  cultivate.  Academic  honors  had  no 
influence  in  shaping  his  plans  of  study  or  his  rules 


19 

of  conduct.  So  far  from  this,  he  dreaded  them,  as 
an  unwelcome  visitation,  if  they  required  his  speak- 
ing before  the  public.  He  pursued  knowledge  for  its 
intrinsic  value  and  because  he  loved  it ;  and  con- 
ducted himself  nobly  by  following  out  his  inbred 
sense  of  propriety  and  Christian  duty. 

His  father,  being  a  member  of  President  Wash- 
ington's administration,  was  too  much  engaged  by 
his  public  duties  to  do  more  for  his  son's  improve- 
ment in  college  than  by  occasionally  writing  to  him. 
Such  a  father,  however,  could  not  fail  to  do  much 
in  this  way,  and  to  exert  a  powerful  influence  upon 
such  a  son.  Their  correspondence,  were  it  open  to 
us,  would  afford  the  best  illustration  of  Mr.  Picker- 
ing's condition  and  circumstances  in  college,  as  w^ell 
as  of  the  motives  which  governed  him,  and  the  manli- 
ness and  moral  beauty  of  his  youthful  character.  An 
intimate  college  companion  remembers  some  of  the 
father's  letters,  and  the  excellent  instructions  they 
contained.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  that,  at  some  day, 
they  may  be  permitted  to  see  the  light. 

Mr.  Pickering  enjoyed  his  college  life  in  a  high 
degree,  and  justly  appreciated  its  privileges ;  yet  he 
felt  the  want  of  an  instructer  in  elocution,  and,  unlike 
some  students  of  that  day,  he  lamented  the  inability 
of  the  professor  who  taught  English  composition  to 
attend  to  his  class  in  that  exercise,  which  he  consid- 
ered among  the  most  important  in  college.  By  such 
disadvantages  he  was  stimulated  to  greater  diligence 


20 

in  supplying  himself  with  instruction.  In  the  prac- 
tice of  speaking  he  found  much  aid  from  an  ancient 
secret  society,  composed  of  select  members  from  the 
two  middle  classes,  called  the  Speaking  Club,  then 
in  high  esteem;  the  members  of  which  held  regular 
meetings  for  declamation  and  mutual  improvement, 
and  were  alike  faithful  and  kind  in  pointing  out  each 
other's  faults  of  elocution,  sometimes  entering  into 
discussions  which  served  to  accustom  them  to  extem- 
poraneous speaking.  At  that  period,  also,  the  resi- 
dent members  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  during 
the  Senior  year,  were  a  working  society  for  mutual 
improvement  in  composition,  reasoning,  and  elocu- 
tion. They  had  frequent  meetings  within  the  walls 
of  college,  at  which  the  members,  in  turn,  produced 
and  read  dissertations  or  forensic  arguments,  which, 
with  occasional  colloquial  discussions,  were  found 
highly  useful.  Mr.  Pickering  could  not  fail  to  make 
them  so  to  himself.  His  leisure  hours,  too,  whether 
given  to  social  intercourse  and  recreation,  or  to  classi- 
cal and  other  well-chosen  reading,  were  fraught  with 
improvement  of  much  value.  His  learned  friend.  Dr. 
Clarke,  was  ever  ready  not  only  to  advise  him  as  to 
the  course  of  his  reading,  but  to  lend  him  the  best 
books  for  his  purpose. 

In  his  knowledge  of  the  French  language  be  had 
greatly  the  advantage  of  most  of  his  classmates.  His 
chief  object  at  college  in  respect  to  this  was  to  acquire 
a  correct   pronunciation  of  the   language,  in   which 


21 

he  was  remarkably  successful,  his  instructer  being  a 
native  of  France,  and  particularly  pleased  to  give  him 
the  attention  w^hich  he  desired.  He  had,  indeed,  a 
peculiar  facility,  in  all  the  foreign  tongues  w^hich  he 
studied,  in  acquiring  ease  and  correctness  of  pronun- 
ciation. His  delicately  tuned  ear  was  in  this  an  ex- 
cellent guide.  Thorough  and  complete  knowledge 
was  sought  by  him  in  all  his  studies.  Hence  he  ac- 
customed himself  to  the  practice  of  writing  in  the 
principal  languages  he  acquired,  —  a  practice  which 
he  commenced  at  college  in  the  French,  and  continued 
afterwards  in  the  Portuguese,  Italian,  Latin,  Greek, 
and  some  other  tongues.  No  intellectual  labor  was 
irksome  to  him  which  looked  to  the  increase  or  im- 
provement of  his  knowledge. 

Though  Mr.  Pickering  had  no  thought  of  ever  be- 
coming a  medical  student,  yet,  in  pursuance  of  the 
principle  to  avail  himself  of  all  opportunities  of  acquir- 
ing valuable  information,  he  attended,  in  his  Senior 
year.  Dr.  Warren's  lectures  on  anatomy,  and  Dr. 
Dexter's  on  chemistry.  With  the  former  he  was 
greatly  delighted,  as  ajffording  him  both  instruction 
and  entertainment  in  a  high  degree.  The  latter, 
from  the  nature  of  the  subject,  were  far  less  inter- 
esting ;  yet  he  was  stimulated  by  them  to  unite  with 
several  of  his  classmates  in  pursuing  the  study  by 
themselves,  making  such  experiments  as  with  their 
small  apparatus  were  in  their  power. 

The  peculiar  delicacy  of  Mr.  Pickering's  mind  and 


22 

feelings  exposed  him,  in  early  life,  to  no  little  suffer- 
ing from  diffidence,  which  it  required  all  his  resolution 
and  sense  of  duty  to  overcome,  and  which,  perhaps, 
he  never  entirely  subdued.  Yet  few  ever  exceeded 
him  in  dignity  of  mind,  strength  of  character,  and  firm, 
uncompromising  principle.  From  his  modest  reluc- 
tance to  speak  in  public,  he  would  have  gladly  avoid- 
ed his  first  college  honor,  a  part  in  an  English  dia- 
logue, at  an  exhibition  in  his  Junior  year;  but  his 
resolution  enabled  him  to  perform  it  to  the  gratifi- 
cation of  his  friends,  as  it  did  also  his  second  part, 
a  finely  written  Latin  oration  on  Classical  Learning, 
a  subject  suggested  to  him  by  his  ever-attentive  friend, 
Dr.  Clarke.  Great  as  was  his  enthusiasm  for  classical 
learning,  he  had,  in  college,  as  real  a  love  for  the  study 
of  the  mathematics,  and  highly  distinguished  himself 
in  this  department.  Near  the  close  of  his  Senior 
year,  he  received  the  honor  of  a  mathematical  part, 
which  appeared  to  give  him  more  pleasure  than  all 
his  other  college  honors.  It  afforded  him  an  opportu- 
nity to  manifest  his  profound  scholarship  in  a  manner 
most  agreeable  to  his  feelings.  When  he  had  deliv- 
ered to  the  Corporation  and  Overseers  this  part,  con- 
taining solutions  of  problems  by  fluxions,  he  had  the 
rare  satisfaction  to  be  told  that  one  of  them  was  more 
elegant  than  the  solution  of  the  great  Simpson,  who 
wrote  a  treatise  on  fluxions,  in  which  the  same  prob- 
lem was  solved  by  him.  Such  was  the  distinguished 
honor  that  crowned  Mr.  Pickering's  intellectual  labors 
in  college. 


23 

At  his  Commencement,  he  had  assigned  to  him  a 
new  part,  one  never  before  introduced,  which,  with 
the  subject,  was  intended  bj  the  government  as  a 
particular  honor  to  him,  and  his  classical  friend  before 
mentioned,  from  England.  This  was  an  English  col- 
loquy, and  the  subject  given  them  was,  "  A  Pane- 
gyric on  Classic  Literature."  The  execution  of  the 
part  was  honorable  to  both,  and  formed  a  suitable 
close  to  Mr.  Pickering's  academical  life. 

At  this  important  era,  which  fixed  the  character 
of  his  whole  earthly  career,  we  may  be  allowed  to 
pause  for  a  moment  to  contemplate  his  attainments 
and  his  example.  His  education,  in  all  its  essential 
objects,  was  now  complete.  Together  with  the  ac- 
quisition of  a  rich  fund  of  various  learning,  all  his 
faculties  were  so  disciplined  and  improved,  his  love  of 
knowledge  so  inflamed,  and  his  ambition  so  exalted, 
that  he  could  not  fail  to  extend  his  views,  and  urge 
his  pursuit  of  learning  with  increased  energy.  Alike 
powerful  in  mind  and  pure  in  heart,  amiable,  intelli- 
gent, and  armed  with  all  the  strength  of  virtue  and 
religious  principle,  he  was  prepared  to  enter  the 
world  of  action,  temptation,  and  trial.  He  at  once 
inspired  respect,  together  with  the  most  entire  con- 
fidence, wherever  he  became  known,  in  the  stability 
of  his  principles.  They  who  intimately  knew  him 
would  as  soon  have  thought  that  one  of  the  planets 
would  shoot  from  its  orbit,  as  that  he  would  depart 
from  his  honorable  course. 


24 

Whether,  as  many  of  his  classmates  affirmed,  he 
bore  from  the  University  the  reputation  of  being  the 
first  scholar  of  his  class,  it  is  of  little  consequence  to 
inquire  ;  nor  is  it  material  to  measure  very  exactly  the 
magnitude  or  extent  of  his  talents ;  it  is  enough  to 
know  that  they  were  not  so  great  as  to  raise  him 
above  the  strictest  virtue,  or  the  least  of  moral  obliga- 
tions, a  nd  that  in  accomplishing  his  education  he  made 
himself  a  model  scholar,  and  laid  the  foundation  of 
his  eminent  distinction  and  usefulness  in  life.  To 
profit  from  his  example,  we  must  learn  how  he  at- 
tained to  such  excellence.  For  this  purpose  it  is  that 
we  have  traced  so  carefully  the  progress  of  his  educa- 
tion, and  considered  his  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages, and  the  manner  in  which  he  improved  them ; 
for  he  appears  to  have  improved  both,  or  rather  to 
have  made  what  were  regarded  as  disadvantages  the 
means  of  greater  improvement.  Though  he  regretted 
that  more  complete  instruction  was  not  afforded  in 
some  departments  of  education,  yet  it  was  doubtless 
better  for  him,  with  his  enlightened  industry  and  wise 
disposition  of  his  time,  to  have  too  few  than  too  many 
teachers,  and  to  enjoy  undisturbed  the  best  hours  of 
the  day  for  study,  than  to  pass  through  the  most 
skilful  process  of  recitation.  The  professors  and  tu- 
tors, whom  it  was  his  good  fortune  to  have  through 
college,  were  able  teachers  and  admirable  guides; 
and,  if  they  taught  not  all  things,  they  misled  in 
nothing.     Had  it  been  otherwise  with  them,  it  might 


25 

have  been  otherwise  with  him  ;  for  who  can  be  safe, 
when  guides  mislead  ?  Mere  defect  of  instruction 
he  could  supply  for  himself,  better  perhaps  than 
others,  with  some  additional  advantages  from  the 
spontaneous  and  independent  exertion  of  his  facul- 
ties. His  fidelity  in  attending  to  his  stated  exercises 
and  observing  all  the  proprieties  of  a  conduct  at  once 
courteous,  manly,  and  upright,  was  not  more  extraor- 
dinary than  his  industry  and  sagacity  in  employing 
his  leisure  time  to  extend  his  classical  and  philosophi- 
cal learning,  and  to  acquire  the  most  valuable  accom- 
plishments. Even  his  hours  of  convivial  recreation 
were  subservient  to  the  growth  of  his  social  and 
generous  virtues,  and  his  favorite  pleasure  consisted  in 
the  cultivation  and  practice  of  one  of  the  most  de- 
lightful of  the  fine  arts. 

Of  all  whom  I  have  ever  known,  from  our  own 
or  any  other  University,  no  one  appears  better  enti- 
tled than  Mr.  Pickering  to  be  regarded  as  the  model 
SCHOLAR.  In  saying  this,  I  pronounce  his  highest 
eulogium,  and  present  his  strongest  claim  upon  the 
public  gratitude.  Vast  and  comprehensive  as  was  his 
matured  learning,  and  valuable  as  were  its  fruits  to 
his  country  and  the  world,  the  finished  model  he  has 
left  for  guiding  the  studies  and  forming  the  character 
of  the  scholar  and  the  man  is  infinitely  more  precious. 
Any  student,  commonly  well  endowed,  who  has  a  soul 
capable  of  aspiring  to  excellence,  —  and  what  young 
man,  devoting  himself  to  a  liberal  education,  is  desti- 


26 

tute  of  such  a  soul  ?  —  may  find  in  this  model  an 
unerring  guide  to  the  attainment  of  his  lofty  object. 
Faithfully  following  his  guide,  he  cannot  fail  of  suc- 
cess. One  condition  only  is  indispensable,  —  a  con- 
dition, too,  altogether  in  his  own  favor.  He  must 
begin  and  persevere  in  the  spirit  of  his  model.  He 
must  abjure  every  indulgence  which  has  the  least 
tendency  to  impair  his  moral  or  his  mental  energies, 
or  to  induce  any  injurious  or  unseemly  habit.  "  Pro- 
cul,  O  procul !  "  must  be  the  earnest  exclamation  of 
his  heart  against  every  form  and  aspect  of  moral  evil. 
Thus  persevering,  he  will  find  his  progress  as  de- 
lightful as  his  success  is  certain. 

The  instructer,  equally  with  the  student,  may  gain 
wisdom  from  the  contemplation  of  such  a  model,  — 
the  model  of  a  character  which  it  is  his  peculiar 
province  to  form.  The  faithful  ship-builder  spares  no 
pains  in  studying  the  best  model  of  his  art,  and 
making  his  work  strong  and  complete.  Much  more 
will  the  faithful  builder  of  a  human  character,  freighted 
with  treasures  of  immortal  value,  seek  the  highest  de- 
gree of  perfection  in  his  work.  Here,  in  this  noblest 
of  human  works,  the  "  wise  master-builder "  is  de- 
serving of  all  honor.  He  entitles  himself  preeminently 
to  the  gratitude  of  mankind. 

I  trust.  Gentlemen,  you  will  not  regard  these  re- 
marks, intended  as  they  are  to  elucidate  Mr.  Picker- 
ing's distinguishing  merits,  as  an  impertinent  digres- 
sion, or  charge   me   with  a  waste  of  your  time  in 


27 

dwelling  so  long  upon  that  portion  of  his  life  which 
is  sometimes  passed  by  with  a  single  glance.  It  is 
more  pleasing,  I  know,  to  admire  the  ripened  fruit 
than  to  watch  the  culture  of  the  vine  or  the  tree 
which  bears  it ;  but  the  latter  is  quite  as  useful  an 
employment  as  the  former.  Having  witnessed  the 
planting  of  a  noble  tree,  and  carefully  observed  its 
early  culture,  its  growth  and  expansion,  its  full  foliage 
and  fair  blossoms,  we  may  not  only  admire  its  fruit, 
but  understand  the  means  by  which  it  is  produced. 

A  smiling  Providence  appears  to  have  guided  Mr. 
Pickering  at  every  step  of  his  progress.  Upon  leav- 
ing the  University  and  returning  to  his  parents  in 
Philadelphia,  he  found  himself  in  the  very  situation 
which,  of  all  others,  he  must  have  preferred  for  his 
continued  advancement  in  various  excellence.  His 
father,  then  Secretary  of  State,  introduced  him  at 
once  into  the  most  intellectual  and  cultivated  society, 
and  afforded  every  desirable  opportunity  for  the  grat- 
ification of  his  literary  taste  and  ambition.  Having 
chosen  the  law  for  his  profession,  he  entered  the  office 
of  Edward  Tilghman,  Esq.,  and  closely  pursued  his 
legal  studies  for  about  nine  months,  when  he  was 
appointed  secretary  of  legation  to  William  Smith,  who 
had  been  a  distinguished  member  of  Congress  from 
South  Carolina,  and  was  then  to  be  our  minister  at 
the  court  of  Lisbon.  Nothing  could  have  been  more 
agreeable  to  Mr.  Pickering  than  such  an  appointment. 
It  opened  a  delightful  prospect  for  the  indulgence  of 


28 

his  curiosity  in  seeing  Europe,  and  for  the  extension 
of  his  literary  and  philosophical  researches.  In  Mr. 
Smith,  who  was  as  remarkable  for  his  amiable  disposi- 
tion as  for  his  talents,  he  was  sure  to  find  a  most 
valuable  friend  and  ^companion. 

During  his  short  residence  in  Philadelphia,  he  gen- 
erally devoted  his  early  morning  hours,  as  well  as  his 
evenings,  to  classical  reading.  He  assured  a  friend, 
whom  he  had  left  a  student  at  Cambridge,  and  whom 
he  wished  to  imbue  with  a  genuine  love  of  ancient 
learning,  that,  instead  of  seeing  the  inutility  of  the 
classics,  as  many  of  his  classmates  had  predicted  he 
would,  he  was  fully  convinced  of  their  value,  and 
was  then  pursuing  them,  particularly  Greek,  with 
more  ardor  than  ever.  His  ardor  in  the  pursuit  and 
promotion  of  Greek  literature,  as  we  all  know,  never 
abated. 

In  August,  1797,  Mr.  Pickering,  after  a  voyage  of 
twenty-seven  days,  arrived  at  Lisbon.  On  the  pas- 
sage he  studied  the  Portuguese  language,  so  that, 
by  taking  a  few  lessons  after  his  arrival,  he  was  able 
to  speak  it  with  tolerable  ease.  Most  of  his  time  in 
Portugal  was  passed  at  Lisbon,  except  during  the  hot 
months  of  summer,  when  Mr.  Smith  resided  at  Cintra, 
a  beautiful  rural  retreat,  much  resorted  to  by  the 
wealthy  inhabitants  of  Lisbon.  Here  Mr.  Pickering, 
little  inclined  to  mingle  in  the  fashionable  amusements 
going  on  around  him,  had  leisure  for  his  own  pursuits, 
and  found  constant  enjoyment  among  the  orange  and 


29- 

lemon  groves  abounding  there,  and  from  the  moun- 
tainous, romantic  scenery  of  the  place.  He  used  to 
speak  of  some  other  excursions  from  Lisbon.  He 
visited  the  famous  monastery  of  Batalha,  a  grand 
specimen  of  elaborate  antique  architecture,  w^hich 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  his  mind,  and  he  often 
spoke  of  it  afterwards  with  enthusiastic  admiration. 
He  also  visited  the  ancient  University  of  Coimbra, 
where  the  venerable  professors  paid  him  the  kindest 
attentions,  and  at  parting  embraced  him  as  a  friend. 
He  had,  indeed,  always  a  language  of  the  intellect, 
heart,  and  manner,  alike  intelligible  and  pleasing  to 
all,  which  at  once  secured  him  friends  wherever  he 
went. 

He  travelled  little  to  see  the  country.  Much  as  he 
loved  nature,  he  loved  humanity  more.  Whatever 
related  to  the  human  mind,  or  to  human  society,  in 
any  state  or  form  of  its  existence,  —  institutions,  laws, 
manners,  arts,  education,  language,  —  engaged  his 
deep  attention.  In  pursuing  his  studies  at  Lisbon, 
he  felt  at  first  the  want  of  books;  but  making  friends, 
in  his  wonted  manner,  of  some  learned  monks,  whom 
he  visited  in  an  old  convent,  he  obtained  through 
their  kindness  those  which  he  most  needed.  The 
civil  law  and  the  law  of  nations,  with  the  study  of 
languages,  were  the  leading  objects  of  his  attention. 
He  read  Vattel's  Law  of  Nations^  in  the  original 
French,  and  entered  upon  Justinian's  Institutes,  Meet- 
ing with  a  learned  native  of  Damascus,  where  the 


30 

Arabic  language  was  spoken  in  its  greatest  purity,  he 
studied  that  language ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  made  it 
the  occasion  of  acquiring  a  more  familiar  knowledge 
of  the  literature  and  affairs  of  Portugal,  by  conversa- 
tions on  these  subjects  with  his  friendly  instructer, 
who  had  lived  many  years  in  the  country.  He  also 
studied  the  Italian  language  at  this  time,  and  proba- 
bly the  Spanish.  It  having  been  expected  that  Mr. 
Smith  would  be  sent  on  a  mission  to  Constantinople, 
Mr.  Pickering  indulged  the  pleasing  vision  of  seeing 
the  East,  and  treading  the  classic  ground  of  Greece 
and  Rome.  With  this  view,  he  undertook  the  study 
of  the  Turkish  language;  but  the  mission  to  that 
country  was  abandoned,  and  he  never  realized  his 
anticipated  delight. 

In  Lisbon,  as  in  college,  music  was  his  favorite 
social  recreation.  Mr.  Smith  himself  had  a  fine  taste 
for  music,  and  the  musical  parties  among  his  friends 
were  to  Mr.  Pickering  a  source  of  instruction  as  well 
as  entertainment.  He  joined  them  on  the  flute,  and 
thus  acquired  that  correct  taste  and  cultivation  which 
he  could  hardly  have  obtained  at  that  time  in  his  own 
country.  He  became  so  well  versed  in  the  science 
of  music,  that  in  later  life  he  took  much  pleasure  in 
explaining  its  principles  to  his  young  friends.  His 
mechanical  ingenuity,  which  discovered  itself  so  early 
in  life,  was  perhaps  most  manifested  in  his  practical 
knowledge  of  the  construction  of  musical  instruments. 

The  noble  father  kept  a  steady  eye  upon  his  son's 


31 

higher  improvement,  and  therefore,  satisfactory  as  was 
his  connection  with  Mr.  Smith,  he  made  arrangements 
for  his  removal  to  London,  where  his  advantages 
would  be  more  ample.  During  the  two  years  he  had 
passed  with  Mr.  Smith,  their  mutual  regard  had 
ripened  into  the  sincerest  friendship,  and,  on  parting 
with  him,  Mr.  Smith  expressed  his  exalted  esteem, 
and  his  deep  regret  at  losing  the  society  of  so  esti- 
mable a  companion  and  friend. 

Under  the  continued  smiles  of  Providence,  Mr. 
Pickering  found  himself,  in  November,  1799,  happily 
situated  in  the  family  of  Rufus  King,  our  minister  at 
the  court  of  St.  James,  surrounded  by  the  most  de- 
sirable means  of  intellectual  progress  and  rational  en- 
joyment. He  was  honored  by  an  intimate  reception 
in  the  family  of  Christopher  Gore,  then  at  London, 
residing  in  Mr.  King's  immediate  vicinity.  He  gained 
the  warm  friendship  of  both  these  eminent  gentlemen, 
and  met  in  their  respective  families  the  best  society, 
whether  for  his  taste  or  his  manners.  His  social 
pleasures  at  this  time  were  of  a  high  order,  and  ren- 
dered altogether  delightful  by  the  simultaneous  arrival 
in  London  of  a  classmate  of  kindred  sentiment  and 
taste,  who  afforded  him  all  that  exquisite  enjoyment 
of  confidential  intercourse  which  springs  from  college 
friendship.*  This  beloved  friend  survives  to  honor 
his  memory  and  bear  witness  to  his  worth.  He  had 
access  to  his  inmost  thoughts  and  feelings,  and  can 

*  Dr.  James  Jackson. 


32 

put  the  seal  of  truth  to  the  strongest  lines  of  excel- 
lence which  I  have  drawn.  I  have  only  to  regret 
that  his  skilful  and  delicate  pencil  was  not  employed 
to  paint  the  picture. 

Our  consul  at  London  was  Samuel  Williams,  Mr. 
Pickering's  friend  and  cousin,  who  freely  offered  to 
advance  whatever  funds  he  might  desire  for  the  pur- 
chase of  books.  His  father  having  encouraged  him 
to  indulge  his  inclination  in  such  an  expenditure,  he 
availed  himself  largely  of  Mr.  Williams's  kind  offer, 
and  selected  and  brought  home  with  him  an  exten- 
sive and  choice  library,  which  in  the  end  became  a 
rich  acquisition  to  the  literature  of  New  England. 

Mr.  Pickering  was  the  private  secretary  of  Mr. 
King,  and  also  the  instructer  of  his  sons  in  their 
vacations  from  school;  but  he  found  much  time  for 
his  literary  pursuits.  These  were  such  as  we  should 
naturally  suppose,  from  his  taste  and  settled  habits  of 
study ;  and  his  proficiency  was  in  proportion  to  the 
excellence  of  his  habits  and  his  disciplined  powers  of 
mind.  His  ardent  curiosity  and  love  of  knowledge, 
his  keen,  philosophical  observation,  his  clear  percep- 
tion, sound,  discriminating  judgment,  and  close,  pen- 
etrating attention,  with  his  strong  and  exact  memory, 
all  improved  by  constant  exercise,  and  aided  by  a 
judicious  observance  of  order  and  method,  will  go  far 
to  account  for  his  acquirements  at  this  period,  as  well 
as  for  the  vast  accession  afterwards  made  to  his  learn- 
ing and  intellectual  ability.     Together  with  his  un- 


33 

remitting  industry,  he  possessed  the  mighty  power  of 
concentrating  his  whole  attention  upon  the  object  be- 
fore him,  and  pursuing  it  with  intense  application. 
This  he  acquired  the  habit  of  doing,  like  his  illustri- 
ous friend  Bowditch,  in  the  midst  of  his  family,  with- 
out being  disturbed  by  conversation  carried  on  around 
him,  or  even  diverted  by  music,  which  he  so  loved ; 
yet  cheerfully  submitting  to  necessary  interruptions, 
and  instantly  returning  again  to  his  laborious  mental 
work. 

All  his  spare  time,  after  fulfilling  his  duties  to  Mr. 
King  and  to  society,  was  devoted  to  the  various  ju- 
ridical and  philological  studies  which  he  pursued  in 
so  systematic  and  thorough  a  manner.  Taylor's  Ele- 
ments of  the  Civil  Law  he  completely  mastered,  mak- 
ing it  a  point  to  read  entirely  through  the  various 
recondite  Greek  quotations  with  which  the  work 
abounds,  —  an  entertainment,  we  venture  to  say,  nev- 
er before  indulged  in  by  any  American  lawyer.  In 
connection  with  this,  he  read  parts  of  Livy  relating 
to  the  Roman  law  and  constitution,  investigating  any 
matters  of  difference  between  these  authors.  He, 
of  course,  kept  up  his  intimacy  with  the  classic  writ- 
ers of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  read  various  learned 
works  connected  with  them,  among  the  most  consid- 
erable of  which  was  Havercamp's  Sylloge  Scriptorum 
de  Linguce  Grcecce  Pronuntiatione,  He  generally  took 
up  first  in  the  morning  some  ancient  author,  most  fre- 
quently Cicero,  delighting  at  such  moments  to  read  a 
6 


34 

portion  of  his  ethical  or  philosophical  writings.  His 
practice  now,  as  in  college,  was  to  pursue  different 
studies  each  day,  mingling  with  the  severer  the  more 
lively.  Along  with  Taylor,  which  he  made  a  severe 
study,  he  read  through  Dryden's  prose  works,  which, 
with  his  philological  taste  and  views,  were  highly 
entertaining.  With  Euclid's  Geometry,  Locke's  Hu- 
man Understanding,  and  the  philological  works  of 
Harris  and  Murray,  he  read  a  copious  history  of  the 
French  Revolution,  and  several  works  of  Edmund 
Burke  on  the  same  eventful  subject,  —  an  author  with 
whom  he  was  greatly  delighted  on  all  subjects,  and 
of  whose  genius  and  sagacity  he  appeared  through 
life  to  feel  an  increasing  admiration. 

As  Mr.  King  passed  the  summer  seasons  at  Mill- 
hill,  a  fine  rural  situation  about  five  miles  from  Lon- 
don, Mr.  Pickering  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity 
it  afforded  for  the  study  of  botany,  and  with  the  aid 
of  Professor  Martyn's  lectures  he  acquired  a  com- 
petent knowledge  of  that  beautiful  science,  which 
became  a  source  of  refined  gratification  to  him,  and 
never  more  so  than  when  he  had  the  pleasure  to 
impart  it  in  his  own  family. 

But  Mr.  Pickering  was  not  so  devoted  to  his 
studies  as  to  overlook  any  important  means  of  infor- 
mation. He  occasionally  attended  the  meetings  of 
Parliament  and  the  courts  of  law,  especially  the 
Admiralty  Court,  where  Sir  William  Scott  was  the 
judge,  in  the  proceedings  of  which  he  was  particu- 


35 

larly  interested,  from  its  connection  with  the  law  of 
nations,  and  from  its  having  before  it  various  Amer- 
ican cases.  Though  the  theatre,  in  its  ordinary  per- 
formances, had  no  attractions  for  him,  yet  he  went  to 
hear  Kemble  and  Mrs.  Siddons,  and  was  deeply  im- 
pressed by  the  transcendent  powers  of  the  latter.  In 
all  his  attendance  on  English  speaking,  whether  in 
the  Parliament,  the  courts,  or  the  theatre,  he  was  a 
strict  observer  of  the  use  and  pronunciation  of  the 
language,  and  had  already  begun  to  note  peculiarities 
of  expression,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  how  far  the 
true  English  tongue  was  corrupted  in  America. 

Mr.  Pickering's  incessant  occupations  prevented  his 
journeying  much  in  England.  He  failed  not,  however, 
to  visit  Oxford,  where  he  could  find  so  much  to  gratify 
his  highest  curiosity.  His  classical  and  mathematical 
scholarship,  but  for  his  modesty,  might  have  made 
him  feel  more  at  home  either  at  Oxford  or  Cambridge 
than  anywhere  else  in  England. 

Fortunately,  he  had  an  opportunity  to  visit  the  Con- 
tinent before  his  return  to  America.  In  the  winter 
and  spring  of  1801,  he  passed  three  or  four  months 
in  travelling  through  France  and  the  Netherlands. 
In  Paris,  he  was  introduced  to  Madame  de  Stael, 
the  object  of  attraction  to  the  literati  and  politicians 
of  the  day.  He  saw  Bonaparte  at  the  height  of  his 
renown,  with  Italy  at  his  feet,  whose  noblest  works 
of  art  he  had  transported  to  France.  As  a  lover  of 
the  fine  arts,  Mr.  Pickering  could  almost  visit  Rome 


36 

in  Paris.  At  Lejden,  he  became  acquainted  with 
the  celebrated  Luzac,  Greek  professor  in  the  Univer- 
sity, who  afterwards  honored  him  with  his  corre- 
spondence. In  Amsterdam,  he  gained  the  friendship 
of  Dr.  Ballhorn,  who  soon  after  published  a  learned 
juridical  work,  dedicated  "  Viro  clarissimo  Joanni 
Pickering."  To  a  youthful  scholar  such  testimonials 
of  merit  must  have  been  as  gratifying  as  they  were 
honorable. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Pickering's  return  from  the  Conti- 
nent, he  set  his  face  homewards.  The  extensive 
library,  before  alluded  to,  was  collected  by  him  with 
great  care,  partly  in  Portugal  and  partly  during  his 
travels  in  France  and  Holland,  but  principally  among 
the  booksellers  of  London,  through  whom  he  found 
access  to  some  of  the  rarest  treasures  both  of  ancient 
and  modern  learning.  This  library  was  no  unworthy 
representative  of  the  treasures  stored  in  his  mind.  He 
had  been  as  wise  and  faithful  in  the  use  of  books,  as 
he  was  skilful  in  the  selection  of  them.  No  one 
better  knew  the  true  value  and  purpose  of  books,  or 
made  them  more  effectually  the  means  of  practical 
wisdom  and  goodness.  Not  the  slightest  tinge  of 
pedantry  ever  appeared  in  his  conversation  or  manner. 

"  Ingenuas  didicisse  fideliter  artes 
Emollit  mores,  nee  sinit  esse  feros." 

Mr.  Pickering  studied  literature  and  the  fine  arts 
both  with  fidelity  and  delight.  Not  only  music,  but 
poetry,  painting,  architecture,  and  especially  sculpture. 


37 

gave  him  pleasure  as  lively  as  it  vi^as  refined.  The 
influence  of  these  favorite  pursuits  appeared  in  his 
disposition,  affections,  and  whole  conduct,  and,  to- 
gether w^ith  the  effect  of  the  best  society,  gave  a 
peculiar  charm  to  his  manners  ;  w^hich  vv^ere  so  simple 
as  not  to  arrest  observation,  and  yet  so  refined  as  to 
bear  the  closest  scrutiny,  and  which,  having  their 
foundation  in  his  good  heart,  and  being  guided  by  the 
nicest  discrimination  as  well  as  true  delicacy  of  feel- 
ing, were  sure  to  recommend  him  to  the  favorable 
regard  of  all,  and  to  the  cordial  respect  of  the  most 
worthy. 

We  might  abundantly  show  the  high  estimation  in 
which  Mr.  Pickering's  character  and  talents  were  held 
by  his  eminent  friends,  Rufus  King  and  William 
Smith,  were  their  correspondence  with  his  father  at 
our  disposal.  But  for  this  we  must  wait  till  the 
long  hoped-for  biography  of  this  pure,  ardent,  and 
able  patriot  and  statesman  is  given  to  the  world ;  — 
a  service  of  filial  piety,  which  it  was  in  the  heart  of 
our  lamented  friend  to  render,  but  which  now,  alas ! 
must  be  performed  by  another. 

In  November,  1801,  Mr.  Pickering,  with  his  noble 
library,  after  a  stormy  and  perilous  voyage  of  forty- 
five  days,  arrived  in  Boston.  Few  scholars  ever  had 
a  more  brilliant  return  from  abroad,  or  a  warmer  wel- 
come home.  One  disappointment,  however,  awaited 
him  on  his  arrival ;  —  he  did  not  meet  his  revered 
father,  who  was  far  away  in  the  interior  of  Pennsyl- 


38 

vania,  out  of  office,  enjoying  the  purest  reward  of 
laborious  patriotism,  —  the  veneration  of  his  country 
and  —  an  honorable  poverty.  This  led  to  another 
disappointment.  Mr.  Pickering,  in  the  purchase  of 
his  precious  library,  relying  upon  his  father's  advice 
and  resources,  had  incurred  a  debt,  which  he  had  now 
no  means  of  discharging  but  from  the  library  itself. 
To  part  with  any  portion  of  this  cost  him  a  struggle, 
but  the  moment  he  saw  it  to  be  his  duty  the  struggle 
was  over.  He  sold  more  than  two  thousand  volumes 
by  public  auction,  under  such  favorable  auspices  as 
enabled  him  to  cancel  his  debt,  and  to  retain  the  resi- 
due of  his  books,  to  him  probably  the  most  valuable 
part. 

Thus  a  smiling  Providence  returned,  but  not  to 
him  only ;  the  friends  of  learning  shared  it  with  him. 
The  distribution  of  such  a  collection  of  books,  to- 
gether with  his  own  bright  example,  gave  an  impor- 
tant impulse  to  the  pursuit  of  ancient  learning.  The 
classic  Buck  minster  soon  after  imported,  on  his  return 
from  Europe,  a  similar  collection,  which,  at  his  de- 
plored death,  were  in  like  manner  dispersed  through 
our  literary  community.  The  germ  of  the  Boston 
Athenaeum,  too,  may,  doubtless,  be  traced  to  the 
sale  of  Mr.  Pickering's  library  and  the  effective  im- 
pulse which  it  sent  abroad. 

Colonel  Pickering,  ever  watchful  to  secure  for  his 
son  the  highest  advantages,  had  made  some  arrange- 
ments for  the  completion  of  his  law  studies  with  the 


39 

late  eminent  Theophilus  Parsons,  influenced  partly, 
perhaps,  by  an  old  family  friendship,  —  Mr.  Parsons 
having  been  named  for  the  Colonel's  uncle,  the  Rev. 
Theophilus  Pickering,  and  been  consequently  a  w^el- 
come  guest  in  his  father's  family.  But  the  earnest 
wishes  of  the  good  uncle,  w^hose  unvarying  affection 
had  follow^ed  Mr.  Pickering  from  infancy,  prevailed 
with  him  to  return  to  Salem,  where  he  entered  the 
office  of  Mr.  Putnam,  afterwards  a  judge  of  the  Su- 
preme Judicial  Court. 

Here,  attracted  by  Mr.  Pickering's  well  known 
character,  I  joined  him,  to  finish  my  own  profes- 
sional studies.  While  he  had  been  abroad,  expanding 
his  views  of  men  as  well  as  books,  I  had  been  con- 
fined to  a  didactic  sphere  within  the  walls  of  college. 
On  emerging  into  the  world,  nothing  could  have  been 
more  welcome  to  me  than  such  a  companion.  His 
society  was  alike  instructive  and  delightful.  It  bright- 
ened the  whole  time  I  was  with  him,  and  made  it 
one  of  the  sunniest  spots  of  my  life.  From  that  mo- 
ment, I  was  for  many  years  a  close  observer  of  him 
in  public  and  in  private,  at  the  bar  and  among  his 
friends,  in  his  walks  and  amid  his  studies,  in  the 
bosom  of  his  family  and  at  my  own  fireside,  and  to  my 
view  his  whole  path  of  life  was  luminous  with  truth 
and  goodness,  —  never  obscured,  no,  not  for  a  mo- 
ment, by  the  slightest  shade  of  obliquity  in  him.  I 
cannot  withhold  this  cordial  testimony.  To  the  eye 
of  reflecting  age,  truth  and  goodness  are  every  thing, 


40 

mere  genius  and  fame  nothing,  —  in  the  comparison, 
absolutely  nothing. 

It  was  while  we  were  thus  together  in  Mr.  Put- 
nam's office,  that  Mr.  Pickering  revised  an  edition  of 
Sallust ;  an  edition  pronounced  by  an  able  critic  in 
The  Monthly  Anthology  to  be  "  in  every  respect 
preferable  to  the  Dauphin  Sallust,"  and  "  not  un- 
worthy of  the  classical  reputation  of  the  reputed 
editor." 

Justly  to  appreciate  this  literary  labor  (if  labor 
that  may  be  called  which  was  a  pleasant  recreation), 
it  is  necessary  to  understand  the  circumstances  under 
which  it  was  performed.  Certain  booksellers  in  Sa- 
lem, having  determined  to  publish  a  reprint  of  Sal- 
lust, asked  of  Mr.  Pickering  the  favor  to  correct 
the  proof-sheets,  which  he  was  unwilling  to  grant 
without  making  it  the  occasion  of  some  valuable  im- 
provement. Hence  the  revised  edition.  President 
Willard,  of  Harvard  University,  was  consulted  about 
it,  as  the  college  government  had  recently  made  this 
author  a  preparatory  study  for  admission,  and  his 
suggestions  were  followed  in  the  undertaking,  —  an 
undertaking  wholly  gratuitous,  and  pursued  rather 
as  an  amusement  than  as  a  work  of  elaborate  care. 
It  Vas,  indeed,  an  interesting  as  well  as  liberal 
amusement,  and  I  could  not  participate  in  it  with- 
out receiving  a  strong  impression  of  Mr.  Pickering's 
classical  taste  and  knowledge.  Nearly  the  whole  of 
this  edition  was  destroyed  by  fire,  before  it  had  an 
opportunity  to  be  tested  by  public  opinion. 


41 

As  evidence  of  Mr.  Pickering's  undiminished  ardor 
in  the  pursuit  of  Greek  literature,  it  deserves  mention, 
that,  w^hen  he  was  thus  dividing  his  time  at  the  office 
between  Sallust  and  the  law,  he  was  employing  a  por- 
tion of  his  hours  at  home  in  reading  an  old  edition  of 
Homer  with  the  scholia  of  Didjmus.  It  appears  to 
have  been  his  practice  through  life  thus  industriously 
to  mingle  literary  occupation  with  his  domestic  enjoy- 
ments. 

In  March,  1804,  Mr.  Pickering  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in  Sa- 
lem. On  the  third  day  of  March,  1805,  he  was 
married  to  his  second  cousin,  Sarah  White,  and  in 
the  following  May  they  became  members  of  the 
First  Church  in  Salem,  then  under  the  pastoral  care 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Prince,  of  which  Mr.  Pickering  was 
made  one  of  the  ruling  elders.  This  continued  to  be 
his  place  of  worship  while  he  remained  in  his  native 
town,  and  also  when  he  afterwards  returned  to  it 
for  his  summer's  residence.  But  on  his  removal  to 
Boston,  in  1827,  he  with  his  family  attended  public 
worship  in  an  Episcopal  church.  He  was  truly  lib- 
eral and  generous,  yielding  in  matters  of  opinion,  as 
in  other  things,  more  than  he  claimed ;  for,  with  the 
Apostle,  he  attached  less  importance  to  particular 
tenets,  than  to  "  love,  joy,  peace,  gentleness,  good- 
ness, faith."  In  all  his  relations,  civil  and  religious, 
he  was  alike  useful  and  exemplary,  honored  and 
beloved. 

6 


42 

Though  never  inclined  to  a  political  life,  Mr. 
Pickering  sometimes  acceded  to  the  wishes  of  his 
friends  so  far  as  to  partake  in  the  administration  of 
public  affairs  within  our  Commonwealth.  For  several 
years  during  the  late  war  with  England,  he  was  a  rep- 
resentative from  Salem  in  the  General  Court,  and 
after  the  war,  for  some  years  a  senator  from  the  coun- 
ty of  Essex,  then  again  from  Suffolk,  and  once  a 
member  of  the  Executive  Council.  He  was  very 
early,  as  you  know,  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  American 
Academy,  and  afterwards  a  member  of  the  Ameri- 
can Philosophical  Society,  and  of  various  other  learned 
bodies  at  home  and  abroad.*  He  also  received  the 
highest  academic  honors  from  more  than  one  univer- 
sity. But  political  and  exterior  honors  appear  of 
little  importance  in  connection  with  his  intellectual 
career.  His  true  distinction  springs  directly  from  his 
intrinsic  excellence. 

In  following  Mr.  Pickering  through  his  education, 
and  during  his  residence  abroad,  —  which  was  but  an 
extension  of  it,  —  we  have  traced  his  progress  more 
minutely  than  is  necessary  in  pointing  out  the  results 
of  his  education  and  learning.  It  is  not  so  impor- 
tant that  we  should  have  a  complete  view  of  his 
labors  and  literary  productions,  as  that  we  should 
clearly  understand  the  spirit  and  the  principles  which 
actuated  him  in  accomplishing  them.  Few  may  ex- 
pect to  enter  into  his  labors,  or  to  attain  to  his  distinc- 

♦  Note  A. 


43 

tion ;  nor  is  that  material ;  but  all,  of  whatever  pro- 
fession or  employment,  may  imbibe  his  generous  spirit 
and  act  from  his  exalted  principles,  and  this  is  the 
essential  thing. 

His  first  publication,  after  his  admission  to  the  bar, 
was  an  oration  delivered  in  Salem,  on  the  fourth  of 
July,  1804,  which  was  received  by  his  political  friends 
with  distinguished  marks  of  favor,  and  published  at 
their  desire.  Its  sound  and  philosophical  views  of 
government,  and  its  able  exposition  of  public  affairs, 
and  the  spirit  and  progress  of  parties  in  the  United 
States,  with  its  clear,  appropriate,  and  manly  style, 
give  it  a  permanent  value,  and  render  it  particularly 
interesting,  as  one  of  Mr.  Pickering's  earliest  produc- 
tions. 

We  are  reminded  by  this  oration  of  the  opinion, 
which  Mr.  Smith  was  known  to  express  in  Lisbon, 
that  Mr.  Pickering's  abilities  remarkably  fitted  him 
for  a  diplomatic  career;  an  opinion  which  became 
more  manifestly  just,  as  he  advanced  in  the  improve- 
ment of  his  abilities  and  the  acquisition  of  general 
learning.  His  knowledge  of  jurisprudence,  with  his 
various  literary  and  scientific  attainments,  eminently 
qualified  him  for  any  station  in  the  government  at 
home  or  abroad.  And  had  the  spirit  of  Washington 
continued  to  preside  over  the  destinies  of  the  coun- 
try, such  men  as  Mr.  Pickering  would  have  continued 
to  be  preferred  for  high  political  trusts.  But,  I  think, 
we  cannot  doubt  that  our  honored   friend,   both   by 


44 

nature  and  education,  belonged  to  learning,  and  not 
to  politics,  or  even  to  the  law,  distinguished  as  he 
was  in  the  science  of  jurisprudence. 

"  Spirits  are  not  finely  touched, 
But  to  fine  issues." 

Providence,  in  bestowing  his  rare  philosophical  and 
literary  abilities,  destined  him  for  the  purest  intellect- 
ual pursuits.  Spirits  far  less  "  finely  touched  "  might, 
for  that  very  reason,  better  succeed  in  the  ordinary 
conflicts  of  the  forum ;  conflicts,  in  which  fine  powers 
and  finer  feelings,  like  his,  must  be  quite  out  of 
place.  Instruments  of  exquisite  metal  and  polish 
are  not  suited  to  work  upon  rude  and  rough  ma- 
terials. 

When,  therefore,  upon  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Eli- 
phalet  Pearson,  Mr.  Pickering  was  appointed,  in 
June,  1806,  Hancock  Professor  of  Hebrew  and  other 
Oriental  Languages  in  Harvard  College,  many  of 
his  friends,  as  well  as  friends  of  the  University,  were 
very  desirous  that  he  should  accept  the  office,  re- 
garding it  as  a  sphere  in  which  his  extraordinary 
learning  and  accomplishments  would  be  most  pro- 
ductive of  benefit  to  the  country  and  of  honor  to 
himself.  The  late  Dr.  Bowditch  was,  at  the  same 
moment,  appointed  to  succeed  President  Webber  as 
Hollis  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Phi- 
losophy. A  remarkable  coincidence  !  These  eminent 
men,  near  neighbours  and  intimate  friends,  were 
doubtless  better  qualified  for  the  offices  to  which  they 


45 

were  respectively  appointed  than  any  other  two  in- 
dividuals in  the  w^hole  country.  They  were  also 
admirably  suited  to  cooperate  in  giving  a  spring  to 
the  University  in  all  excellence,  intellectual  and  mor- 
al. Both  were  liberal,  elevated,  and  disinterested  in 
their  views  of  education  and  learning ;  both  had 
an  insatiable  thirst  for  knowledge,  and  a  supreme 
love  of  truth  and  goodness;  the  one  was  devoted  to 
science,  the  other  chiefly  to  literature ;  both  were  ex- 
alted and  spotless  in  reputation,  alike  raised  above  all 
suspicion  of  moral  failing,  yet  with  some  striking 
points  of  contrast ;  the  one,  quick  and  ardent,  would 
leap  to  a  logical  conclusion  at  a  single  step ;  while 
the  other,  cautious  and  patient,  like  Lord  Eldon,  could 
never  weigh  his  arguments  or  consider  his  subject  too 
deliberately.  "  Suaviter  in  modo,  fortiter  in  re,"  was 
applicable  to  both  ;  but  the  one  could  put  aside  his 
gentleness  of  manner  when  he  felt  it  to  be  his  duty ; 
the  other  could  hardly  be  brought  to  feel  it  a  duty. 
Both  were  as  exemplary  in  Christian  virtue,  in  the 
exercise  of  social  benevolence  and  the  domestic  af- 
fections, and  in  purity  of  habits,  as  they  were  distin- 
guished in  literature  and  science ;  and  both  would 
have  discountenanced  by  their  powerful  example  those 
indulgences  and  practices  which  often  lead  the  young 
student  into  habits  more  injurious  to  him  than  any 
amount  of  learning  can  be  beneficial.  But  both,  to 
the  deep  regret  of  the  University,  declined  their  ap- 
pointments. 


46 

Seven  or  eight  years   later,  on  the   establishment 
of  the  Eliot  Professorship  of  Greek  Literature,  Mr. 
Pickering  was  still   more   urgently  pressed   to  be  a 
candidate  for  the  new  professor's  chair.    A  friend  to 
him   and  to  the    University  was  authorized,  by  the 
President  of  Harvard  College,  to  ascertain  "  whether 
any  and  what  definite  amount  of  compensation  would 
induce  him  to  accede  to  the  proposition."     But  Mr. 
Pickering  gave  no  encouragement  for   proceeding  to 
his  election.     The  literary  duties,  no  doubt,  were  at- 
tractive, but   the    disciplinary  cares   connected   with 
them  had  a  forbidding  aspect.     Some  of  his  friends, 
moreover,  very  naturally  desired  for  him  a  sphere  of 
usefulness  which  appeared  to  them  more  eminent  and 
extensive.     Nor  were  they  too  sanguine  in  their  views 
of  his    future   eminence.     Yet  who  could   now  say 
that  he  might  not  have   been  still  more  extensively 
useful,  had  the  direct  influence  of  his  superior  powers 
and   virtues,   his   teachings   and   his   example,   been 
exerted  upon  the  numerous  young  men  since  educat- 
ed at  the  University,  and  been  diffused  through  them 
over  our  whole  country  ? 

Mr.  Pickering  was  a  grateful  and  devoted  son  of 
the  University,  which  so  justly  appreciated  his  merits, 
and  which,  at  a  subsequent  period,  bestowed  upon 
him  its  highest  honors.  For  many  years  he  was  an 
efficient  member  of  the  Board  of  Overseers,  always 
ready  to  exert  his  influence  to  advance  the  usefulness 
and  reputation  of  his  Alma  Mater.    His  last  admirable 


47 

report,  as  one  of  the  visiting  committee,  in  1840,  em- 
bodies views  and  principles  of  university  education 
which  ought  never  to  be  overlooked  or  forgotten.* 

We  need  not  dwell  here  upon  his  learning  as  a 
jurist,  or  upon  his  excellent  qualities  as  a  practising 
lawyer.  These  have  been  portrayed  and  exhibited  on 
an  occasion  before  referred  to,  in  the  best  manner  for 
extending  their  influence  in  the  profession  of  which  he 
was  so  bright  an  ornament.  We  should  remember, 
however,  that,  while  pursuing  his  extensive  literary 
researches,  and  performing  numberless  intellectual 
labors  for  the  public  and  for  individuals,  he  was 
incessantly  engaged,  to  the  last  year  of  his  life,  in  the 
arduous  duties  of  his  profession,  —  duties  which  not 
unfrequently  imposed  upon  him  a  drudgery  as  irk- 
some as  it  was  laborious.  He  felt  the  full  weight  of 
it,  and  but  for  those  interesting  questions  which  led 
him  to  examine  principles,  his  profession,  as  he  some- 
times remarked,  would  have  been  nothing  but  labor 
and  drudgery.  Having  ascended  to  the  fountain-head 
of  jurisprudence,  and  stored  his  mind  with  great  prin- 
ciples, he  took  delight  in  tracing  these  in  their 
practical  application.  In  this  view,  he  regarded  his 
profession  as  a  most  honorable  one.  The  friends  of 
humanity  and  learning,  however,  will  not  cease  to 
regret  that  the  "labor  and  drudgery,"  which  others 
might  have  well  performed,  should  have  taken  so 
much  of  his   precious  time   from   those  noble   intel- 

♦  Note  B. 


48 

lectual  pursuits  for  which  he  was  so  peculiarly  com- 
petent. Especially  must  they  regret,  that,  on  re- 
moving to  the  metropolis,  where  his  powerful  literary 
influence  was  so  important,  he  should  have  felt  it 
necessary  to  present  himself  only  in  his  professional 
character.  The  office  of  city  solicitor,  which  he  held 
for  a  great  number  of  years,  brought  with  it  much 
additional  labor,  though  occasionally  relieved  by  the 
occurrence  of  those  interesting  questions  which  he 
loved  to  investigate  and  settle.  The  numerous  legal 
opinions  which  he  was  called  upon  to  give,  we  are 
assured,  were  as  remarkable  for  their  soundness  as 
for  their  learning.* 

Mr.  Pickering's  literary  productions  and  labors, 
aside  from  the  practice  of  his  profession,  were  so 
abundant  and  multifarious,  that  it  is  not  possible  for 
us,  on  this  occasion,  to  take  a  complete  or  distinct 
view  of  them.  We  must  classify  them  as  well  as  we 
can,  according  to  their  kindred  relation,  contenting 
ourselves  with  some  brief  remarks. 

Firsts  we  class  together  those  writings  which  par- 
take of  a  professional  character,  while  they  are  also 
made  attractive  to  the  general  reader.  The  most 
considerable  of  these,  perhaps,  is  the  able  discussion 
of  "  National  Rights  and  State  Rights,"  which  was 
drawn  from  him  by  the  case  of  Alexander  McLeod, — 
a  case  involving  a  question  of  the  highest  public  im- 
portance,—  ^^dignus  vindice  nodus.^^     It  was,  indeed, 

*  Note  C. 


49 

worthy  of  his  interposition,  and  his  learning  and  logi- 
cal ability  were  equal  to  its  solution.  He  brought  to 
the  discussion  such  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  sub- 
ject, with  such  clear  views  of  our  federal  and  state 
relations,  urged  with  such  weight  of  argument,  jus- 
tice, and  truth,  that  he  settled  this  great  national 
question  upon  principles  which  can  never  be  shaken. 
For  this  single  service  he  is  entitled  to  a  grateful  re- 
membrance so  long  as  any  value  is  attached  to  the 
union  of  the  States. 

The  next  of  this  class,  in  point  of  general  interest, 
is  the  article  upon  Curtis's  Admiralty  Digest^  published 
in  the  American  Jurist,  little  known,  probably,  except 
to  lawyers  ;  yet  I  could  not  point  to  any  work  which 
contains,  within  the  same  compass,  more  matter  of 
permanent  interest  to  every  reader  of  American  his- 
tory, and  which  throws  more  light  upon  the  foreign 
policy  of  our  government  from  the  time  of  Washing- 
ton's declaration  of  neutrality,  in  1793,  to  the  dec- 
laration of  war,  in  1812,  under  President  Madison. 

Another  dissertation,  published  in  the  Jurist,  enti- 
tled "  Remarks  on  the  Study  of  the  Civil  Law,"  is 
highly  useful  to  the  classical  scholar,  and,  indeed,  to 
every  educated  gentleman,  though  designed  more 
especially  for  civilians  and  lawyers.  Early  impressed 
with  the  importance  of  this  study,  Mr.  Pickering 
wished  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  bar  to  it  as 
among  the  most  effectual  means  of  raising  the  dig- 
nity and  usefulness  of  the  profession.  He  regarded 
7 


50 

the  civil  law  as  a  wonderftil  repository  of  human  rea- 
son, the  source  of  a  large  portion  of  our  common  law, 
and  the  basis  of  that  international  code  which  governs 
us  and  all  the  nations  that  constitute  the  great  com- 
munity of  Europe.  At  the  close,  he  expresses  a  strong 
desire  to  see  this  branch  of  jurisprudence  take  its 
proper  rank  in  our  law  schools,  as  well  as  among  our 
practitioners  at  the  bar.  Alluding  to  an  illustrious 
example  of  professional  liberality  in  the  donation  made 
by  our  late  learned  countryman,  Dr.  Dane,  to  the 
University  of  Cambridge,  for  the  advancement  of 
American  law,  he  adds :  —  "  We  earnestly  hope  that 
some  benefactor  of  equal  liberality  will  soon  be  found 
who  will  devote  a  portion  of  the  well-earned  fruits 
of  an  honorable  life  to  a  chair  for  the  civil  law  in 
that  ever  cherished  institution." 

As  akin  to  this  subject,  we  may  glance  at  the  arti- 
cle, written  by  Mr.  Pickering  for  the  Encyclopaedia 
Americana^  on  the  "  Agrarian  Laws  of  Rome " ;  a 
correct  view  of  which  laws  he  considered  indispensable 
to  general  readers,  as  well  as  lawyers,  who  would  have 
just  notions  of  the  Roman  history  and  constitution. 
Contrary  to  the  general  impression,  that  those  laws 
were  always  a  direct  infringement  of  the  rights  of 
private  property,  he  shows  that  the  original  object 
of  them  was  the  distribution  of  the  public  lands,  and 
not  those  of  private  citizens,  though  they  might 
sometimes  violate  private  rights ;  as  certain  laws  of 
our  State  legislature,  agrarian  in  principle,  made  for 


61 

the  relief  of  illegal  settlers  on  Eastern  lands,  violated 
the  rights  of  proprietors  of  those  lands. 

The  "  Lecture  on  the  alleged  Uncertainty  of  the 
Law,"  delivered  by  Mr.  Pickering  before  the  Boston 
Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knov^ledge,  is  an 
excellent  production.  Instead  of  seeking  for  his  au- 
ditors an  hour's  diversion  by  indulging  their  love  of 
pleasantry  at  the  law's  expense,  he  aims  at  what  is 
true  and  useful,  and  affords  both  entertainment  and 
instruction.  His  object  was,  to  promote  a  just  re- 
spect for  the  science  of  the  law  by  securing  for  it  a 
proper  confidence.  The  science  itself  is  as  certain 
as  the  sciences  in  general ;  but  when  we  come  to 
apply  it  to  the  innumerable  objects  to  be  regulated 
by  it,  then  the  same  uncertainty  takes  place,  which 
is  experienced  in  the  other  sciences,  not  excepting 
the  mathematics.  The  various  learning  and  striking 
illustrations  with  which  this  beautiful  lecture  abounds 
place  it  among  his  most  valuable  writings. 

The  article  written  for  the  North  American  Re- 
view^ entitled  **  Egyptian  Jurisprudence,"  is  as  char- 
acteristic as  it  is  curious.  No  other  American  schol- 
ar, we  think,  would  have  attempted  it.  For  several 
years,  he  observes,  the  learned  world  had  been  in 
possession  of  some  original  and  very  ancient  legal 
documents  from  Egypt ;  yet,  though  they  had  not 
escaped  the  notice  of  jurists  on  the  continent  of  Eu- 
rope, he  had  not  seen  any  allusion  to  them  in  the 
juridical  journals,  either  of  Great  Britain  or  of  this 


52 

country.  One  of  these  extraordinary  documents  is 
an  Egyptian  deed  of  a  piece  of  land  in  the  city  of 
Thebes,  written  on  the  papyrus  of  that  country,  more 
than  a  century  before  the  Christian  era,  with  the 
impression  of  a  seal,  or  stamp,  attached  to  it,  and  a 
certificate  of  registry  on  its  margin,  in  as  regular  a 
manner,  Mr.  Pickering  adds,  as  the  keeper  of  the  reg- 
istry in  the  county  of  Suffolk  would  certify  to  a  deed 
of  land  in  the  city  of  Boston  at  this  day.  Of  this 
curious  document,  written  in  Greek,  as  was  common 
while  Egypt  was  under  the  Greek  dynasty,  a  learned 
and  ingenious  explanation,  together  with  a  facsimile 
of  it,  is  given  by  Mr.  Pickering.  The  whole  article 
is  exceedingly  interesting,  and  affords  a  beautiful 
specimen,  not  only  of  his  rare  learning,  but  of  his 
philosophical  taste  and  skill  in  the  application  of  his 
learning. 

Such  are  the  chief,  though  not  all,  of  Mr.  Pick- 
ering's writings  which  have  a  professional  bearing. 
In  the  second  class  we  include  those  which  partake  of 
a  legislative  character. 

As  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts, 
Mr.  Pickering  rendered  important  public  services,  and 
made  himself  conspicuous  among  the  eminent  men 
of  the  Commonwealth.  His  elaborate  "  Report  on 
the  Subject  of  Impressed  Seamen,  with  the  Evidence 
and  Documents  accompanying  it,"  made  to  the  legis- 
lature of  1812,  the  first  year  of  the  late  war  with 
England,  is  a  durable   monument  of  his   patriotism, 


53 

as  well  as  of  his  ability  and  learning.  We  cannot 
justly  appreciate  this  undertaking,  without  looking 
back  to  his  position,  in  the  midst  of  that  dreadful 
war,  —  most  dreadful  to  all  reflecting  men,  who  saw 
and  felt  that  it  bound  us  to  fight  the  battles  of  Bona- 
parte against  the  civilized  world.  When  this  over- 
whelming conqueror  was  on  his  triumphant  march 
against  Russia,  our  government,  at  the  very  moment 
which  seemed  to  suit  his  views,  declared  war  against 
England,  the  only  remaining  barrier  in  his  way  to 
universal  dominion.  The  power  of  the  elements  over 
him  could  not  be  foreseen.  The  repeal  of  the  Brit- 
ish orders  in  council,  the  chief  alleged  cause  of  the 
war,  having  taken  place  before  its  declaration,  though 
not  known  here  till  afterwards,  left  the  impressment 
of  American  seamen,  or  rather  the  claim  of  a  right 
to  take  British  subjects  from  the  merchant-ships  of 
the  United  States,  the  only  remaining  pretext  for 
prosecuting  the  war.  In  relation  to  this  subject,  great 
errors  had  crept  into  the  public  documents,  and  great 
delusion  existed  in  the  public  mind.  Mr.  Pickering 
thought  that  he  could  in  no  way  render  a  greater 
service  to  his  country  than  by  correcting  those  errors 
and  dissipating  that  delusion.  For  this  purpose,  he 
introduced,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  an  order 
"  to  ascertain  the  number  of  the  seamen  of  this 
Commonwealth  impressed  or  taken  by  any  foreign 
nation."  On  him,  as  chairman  of  the  committee 
thereupon  appointed,  chiefly  devolved  the  labor  and 


64 

responsibility  of  the  undertaking.  It  is  sufficient  to 
add,  that  it  was  accomplished  in  a  manner  alike 
honorable  to  himself  and  satisfactory  to  the  legisla- 
ture. A  great  mass  of  evidence  was  reported,  com- 
prised in  more  than  fifty  depositions,  taken  from  the 
principal  merchants  and  shipmasters  of  Massachusetts, 
together  with  a  just  account  of  the  previous  practice 
of  our  government  in  relation  to  impressments,  and 
a  clear  exposition  of  national  law  on  the  subject,  all 
showing  conclusively  that  the  further  prosecution  of 
the  war  was  as  unnecessary  as  it  was  disastrous. 

We  cannot  follow  Mr.  Pickering  through  his  im- 
portant legislative  labors.  It  must  suffice  to  observe, 
that  on  great  occasions,  or  on  subjects  involving  great 
principles  or  momentous  consequences,  his  learning 
and  his  pen  were  always  in  demand,  and  never  with- 
held. The  contemplated  separation  of  Maine  from 
Massachusetts,  when  he  was  a  Senator  from  Essex,  in 
1816,  was  such  an  occasion,  and  he  reported  the  first 
bill  for  this  purpose,  "drawn,"  says  the  historian  of 
Maine,  "with  great  ability  and  skill."*  In  1817, 
he  was  appointed,  together  with  the  late  Judge  Dawes 
and  late  Dr.  Dane,  "  to  revise  the  laws  relating  to 
the  Courts  of  Probate,  and  the  settlement  of  the 
estates  of  deceased  persons,  in  one  general  bill,  with 
such  alterations  and  amendments  as  were  necessary." 
This  great  and  protracted  labor  was  cheerfully  assum- 
ed by  Mr.  Pickering,  though   the   youngest  member 

•  9  Law  Reporter,  52. 


55 

of  the  committee,  and  was  accomplished  by  him  with 
his  usual  ability  and  success.  Whether  the  younger 
or  the  older  in  any  working  committee  or  body,  he 
was  as  sure  to  have  the  work  to  do,  as  others  were 
that  he  was  the  best  qualified  to  do  it.  A  similar  and 
yet  more  extensive  service  was  devolved  upon  him,  on 
the  death  of  Professor  Ashmun,  in  the  revision  of  the 
whole  body  of  statutes,  in  connection  with  those  emi- 
nent jurists.  Judge  Jackson  and  the  late  Professor 
Stearns.  The  portion  of  the  work  which  Mr.  Picker- 
ing undertook  was  a  revision  of  the  statutes  relating  to 
the  "  internal  administration  of  the  government,"  di- 
vided into  fourteen  distinct  titles,  and  subdivided  into 
fifty-eight  chapters,  some  of  which  contain  over  two 
hundred  sections.  When  it  is  added,  that  to  these 
chapters  was  subjoined  a  great  mass  of  explanatory 
notes,  we  may  form  some  judgment  of  the  extent  and 
importance  of  his  labors  in  this  arduous  undertaking. 
He  accomplished  it  in  a  manner  that  entitled  him  to 
the  lasting  gratitude  of  the  Commonwealth. 

While  he  was  a  member  of  the  Senate  from  the 
county  of  Suffolk,  in  1829,  he  took  a  leading  part  in 
the  discussion  upon  the  bill  respecting  manufacturing 
corporations,  which,  being  based  upon  principles  of 
justice  and  sound  policy  touching  the  individual  liabil- 
ity of  stockholders,  engaged  his  strenuous  and  perse- 
vering support.  His  able  speech  on  that  occasion  was 
published,  and  it  affords  ample  evidence  of  his  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  and  his  large  and  just  views 
of  public  policy. 


66 

In  this  connection  we  would  observe,  that  Mr.  Pick- 
ering was  often  engaged  as  counsel  before  committees 
of  the  legislature  in  important  cases.  These  were  in- 
teresting to  him  in  proportion  as  they  led  him  into  the 
investigation  and  enforcement  of  great  principles  of 
public  justice.  He  never,  perhaps,  spoke  with  more 
signal  ability  and  effect  than  on  the  question  of  a  second 
bridge  between  Boston  and  Charlestown,  —  a  question 
which  involved  principles  and  consequences  of  momen- 
tous concern  to  the  people  of  Massachusetts.  His 
speech  was  a  powerful  support  of  private  rights  and 
the  public  faith,  and  was  alike  honorable  to  his  head 
and  his  heart. 

With  this  very  imperfect  notice  of  Mr.  Pickering's 
civil  and  legislative  services,  we  pass  to  the  third  class, 
including  those  miscellaneous  labors  and  writings  given 
by  him  in  private  and  social  life.  His  lively  interest 
in  all  public  improvements,  scientific  discoveries,  and 
literary  undertakings,  with  his  various  ability,  prompt 
pen,  and  ever  obliging  disposition,  pointed  him  out  as 
the  man  to  be  called  upon  for  any  sort  of  intellectual 
work,  needed  by  societies  or  individuals.  Was  any 
report,  memorial,  or  other  document  required  on  any 
occasion,  or  was  any  project  to  be  commended  by  an 
exposition  of  its  merits,  his  judgment  and  his  pen  were 
put  in  requisition  for  the  purpose.  So,  too,  if  any 
young  author  had  a  manuscript  eager,  but  unfit,  for  the 
press,  he  might  be  relied  on  to  give  it  form  and  comeli- 
ness, and  to  usher  it  into  the  world  with  a  preface  or 


67 

introduction.  In  such  cases  he  was  ever  content  to 
remain  unknown,  and  to  leave  the  whole  literary  credit 
where  it  was  most  desired.  It  would  be  difficult  to  say 
which  was  the  greater,  his  modesty  or  his  generosity. 
In  some  of  these  various  professional  and  benevolent 
efforts,  he  found  a  most  cordial  helper  in  a  cherished 
and  admiring  friend,  whose  genius  and  learning  were 
as  practical  as  his  feelings  were  generous  and  Christian, 

—  I  mean  our  late  eloquent  associate,  that  warm-heart- 
ed and  noble-minded  gentleman,  Leverett  Saltonstall, 

—  whose  delightful  image  mingles  sweetly  with  the 
memory  of  the  friend  whom  he  so  honored  and  loved. 

These  miscellaneous  claims  upon  Mr.  Pickering's 
attention  rather  increased  than  diminished  upon  his 
removal  to  Boston.  His  professional  robe  could  not 
conceal  him  from  the  eye  of  science,  or  from  the  calls 
of  benevolence.  Almost  immediately  his  pen  was  en- 
gaged, at  the  organization  of  the  Boston  Society  for 
the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge,  in  drafting  its  con- 
stitution, writing  its  first  annual  report,  and  commend- 
ing its  objects  to  the  public  regard.  He  was  also  its 
first  vice-president,  Daniel  Webster  being  at  its  head. 
Among  the  latest  of  these  disinterested  services  was 
the  learned  report  which  he  made  as  chairman  of  a 
committee  of  Boston  gentlemen,  recommending  the 
purchase  and  introduction  into  the  country  of  a  tele- 
scope of  the  first  class,  and  illustrating  the  progress 
and  the  importance  of  astronomical  science.  These 
are  but  instances.  His  familiar  acquaintance  with 
8 


68 

European  languages  attracted  many  foreign  gentle- 
men, whose  society  was  so  highly  valued  by  him,  that 
he  could  not  fail  to  give  to  it  much  of  his  time. 
American  scholars,  too,  always  found  him  ready  to 
listen,  and  bountiful  both  of  his  time  and  knowledge. 
The  young  student  was  encouraged  to  repeat  his  visits 
by  the  manifest  delight  which  Mr.  Pickering  always 
took  in  imparting  useful  information.  Annoying  ap- 
plications for  his  patronage  in  matters  of  a  dubious 
character  were,  perhaps,  unavoidable,  and  these  would 
sometimes  be  intruded  upon  hours  which  should  have 
been  sacred  to  his  repose  and  recreation.* 

We  now  pass  to  the  fourth  class,  comprehending 
Mr.  Pickering's  writings  and  labors  in  the  cause  of 
ancient  learning.  We  have  seen  his  constant  devotion 
to  the  Greek  and  Roman  classics.  The  Hebrew  and 
other  Oriental  languages  also  engaged  his  profound 
attention.  A  competent  knowledge  of  the  original 
languages  of  the  Bible  he  considered  indispensable  to 
the  theologian.  He  says,  too,  of  the  Hebrew,  speak- 
ing of  Harvard  College,  that,  "  with  a  view  to  general 
philology,  the  student's  labors  will  find  as  rich  a  re- 
ward in  the  study  of  this  ancient  and  curiously  formed 
language,  as  in  any  one  dialect  of  the  tongues  spoken 
by  man."  And  he  wished  to  see  more  attention  paid 
to  this  study  in  all  our  colleges.f  It  was  his  earnest 
desire  through  life,  to  diffuse  the  love,  promote  the 
study,  and  raise  the  standard  of  classical  learning  in 

♦  Note  D.  t  Note  E. 


59 

our  country.  We  can  here  take  only  a  brief  notice  of 
his  principal  efforts  for  the  promotion  of  Greek  litera- 
ture. 

Mr.  Pickering,  while  he  was  in  Europe,  wrote  to 
a  member  of  the  college  government  at  Cambridge, 
proposing,  among  other  improvements,  "the  adoption 
of  uniformity  in  grammars  and  other  elementary  books 
at  the  University."  This,  whether  from  his  sugges- 
tion or  not,  was  soon  after  carried  into  execution  by 
the  selection  of  Adam's  Latin  Grammar  and  the  Glou- 
cester Greek  Grammar  to  be  used  in  Harvard  College. 
Connected  with  this  subject  is  the  excellent  little  work, 
written  by  Mr.  Pickering  in  1825,  which  bears  the 
unpretending  title  of  Remarks  on  Greek  Grammars^  yet 
abounds  in  various  information,  as  interesting  as  it  is 
learned.  The  views  it  presents  of  the  importance  of 
a  steady  uniformity  of  elementary  books  of  instruction, 
and  of  resisting  the  spirit  of  perpetual  change  in  these 
"  instruments  of  learning,"  deserve  the  respectful  at- 
tention of  all  our  collegiate  institutions. 

The  just  tribute  which  is  paid  by  Mr.  Pickering  to 
that  "  sound  Greek  scholar,"  the  late  President  Willard, 
and  to  the  Emeritus  Professor  of  Greek  Literature  at 
Cambridge,  whom  he  ranks  among  "  the  most  profound 
scholars  of  the  country,"  *  will  long  be  enjoyed  by 
those  who  love  to  remember  solid  and  genuine  excel- 
lence. The  glowing  commendation  of  English  litera- 
ture at  the  close  of  these  Remarks  is  one  of  the  most 

*  Rev.  Dr.  Popkin. 


60 

eloquent  passages  of  Mr.  Pickering's  or  any  other  lit- 
erary discussions. 

The  translation  of  Professor  Wyttenbach's  Observa- 
tions on  the  Importance  of  Greek  Literature  and  the  best 
Method  of  studying  the  Classics,  by  Mr.  Pickering,  was 
first  published  in  the  North  American  Review,  for  1819 ; 
and  was  afterwards  republished,  with  an  appropriate 
preface  by  the  translator,  and  the  addition  of  "an  ex- 
emplification of  the  author's  method  of  explaining  the 
classics  to  his  pupils."  This  was  printed  at  the  ex- 
pense of  that  kind-hearted  patron  of  letters  and  zealous 
agent  in  founding  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  the  late 
William  S.  Shaw,  who  deserves  a  grateful  remem- 
brance in  this  metropolis.  Professor  Wyttenbach, 
who  was  regarded  in  England  as  the  best  Continental 
scholar  of  Europe,  and  who,  for  a  great  part  of  his  life, 
had  been  a  practical  instructer,  was  worthy  of  the  at- 
tention bestowed  upon  him  by  Mr.  Pickering.  The 
results  of  such  a  scholar's  experience  and  erudition 
could  not  fail  to  be  a  valuable  guide  to  those  who  are 
engaged  in  "  the  arduous  but  honorable  office  of  in- 
structing our  youth  in  classical  learning."  We  think, 
too,  that  his  noble  example  as  a  self-teacher  is  worth 
almost  every  thing  else.  His  own  account  of  the  ex- 
ertions and  progress  he  made  in  studying  the  Greek 
authors  is  exceedingly  interesting ;  to  which  he  adds, 
—  "  Now,  my  intelligent  pupils,  why  should  not  you 
be  able,  with  the  assistance  of  an  instructer,  to  ac- 
complish as  much  as  I  did  without  one,  and  by  my  own 


61 

industry  alone  ?  "  We  cannot  forbear  to  repeat  here, 
as  strikingly  applicable  to  Mr.  Pickering's  own  style 
and  writings,  what  Professor  Wyttenbach  observes  of 
the  "perfection  of  Xenophon's  style,  —  which,"  he 
says,  "has  a  healthy  soundness,  an  ease,  simplicity, 
and  grace,  which  give  it  the  preference  above  all  others 
for  the  introductory  studies  of  boys;  whose  fresh  and 
youthful  minds  will  there  imbibe  nothing  but  the 
wholesome  aliment  of  the  purest  of  fountains." 

In  the  course  of  his  classical  reading  in  England, 
Mr.  Pickering  paid  a  thorough  attention  to  the  pronun- 
ciation of  Greek,  and  went  over  the  whole  controversy 
about  the  reform  introduced  by  Erasmus,  as  contained 
in  Havercamp's  Sylloge,  and  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  Erasmus  was  right.  But  a  personal  acquaintance 
with  several  natives  of  Greece,  who  arrived  here  in 
1814,  led  him  to  a  revision  and  change  of  his  opinion. 
The  result  of  his  investigations  on  the  subject  is  given 
in  the  memoir  which  he  communicated  to  the  Ameri- 
can Academy  in  1818,  and  which  attracted  the  mark- 
ed attention  of  scholars  in  Europe ;  and  though  it  was 
at  first  opposed  by  a  distinguished  professor  of  this 
country,  it  afterwards  received  his  sanction.  It,  in- 
deed, bears  full  evidence  of  Mr.  Pickering's  candor  and 
patient  research,  and  is  a  beautiful  specimen,  not  only 
of  his  extraordinary  learning,  but  of  his  judgment, 
taste,  ingenuity,  and  acuteness.^ 

But  Mr.  Pickering's  great  work,  his  Herculean  labor 

*  Note  F. 


62 

in  the  cause  of  classical  learning,  was  his  Greek  and 
English  Lexicon.     How  he  could  have  had  the  cour- 
age and  resolution  to  undertake  such  a  work,  in  the 
midst  of  professional  toils,  is  inconceivable  without  a 
knowledge  of  the  man.     In  truth,  he  thought  infinitely 
less  of  his  own  ease  than  of  good  to  his  fellow-men. 
"  A  strong  conviction,"  as  expressed  by  himself,  "  that 
it  would  be  rendering  an  essential  service  to  the  inter- 
ests of  sound  literature  in  our  country,  to  promote  the 
study  of  the;  language  of  Greece,  whose  authors  will 
be  models   in  writing  as   long  as  her  sculptors  and 
architects  shall  be  models  in  the  fine  arts,"  sustained 
him  through  all  the  difficulties  of  this  bold  undertak- 
ing.    He  was  early  convinced  of  the  importance  of  a 
Greek  lexicon  with  an  English  instead  of  a  Latin  in- 
terpretation, and  seeing  no  prospect  of  such  a  work 
in  England,  he  entered  upon  the  execution  of  his  con- 
templated   plan    in    1814.      After   proceeding   alone 
through  about  one  sixth  part  of  the  whole  work,  he 
associated  with  himself  the  late   Dr.  Daniel  Oliver, 
whose  character  both  as  a  scholar  and  a  man  rendered 
him  worthy  of  such  a  connection.     The  prospectus 
was  issued  in  1820,  and  the  first  edition  appeared  in 
1826;  the  rapid  sale  of  which  made  it  necessary  to 
prepare  a  second  edition  much  sooner  than  had  been 
expected.     Mr.  Pickering,  having  become   sole    pro- 
prietor of  the  work,  was    alone  responsible   for   the 
second  edition,  published  in  1829,  enlarged  by  the  ad- 
dition of  "  more  than  ten  thousand  entire  articles  and 


63 

very  numerous  parts  of  articles,"  and  greatly  improved 
throughout.  The  next  year  it  was  reprinted,  w^ith  ad- 
ditions, at  Edinburgh,  and  recommended  to  public 
notice  as  a  "  very  useful  and  popular  work."  In  the 
advertisement  to  the  third  edition,  this  is  particularly 
alluded  to,  "  in  order  to  prevent  any  misconception  or 
suspicion  of  plagiarism  on  the  part  of  the  American 
editor."  The  preparation  of  the  work  for  this  "  new 
and  extensively  revised  edition,  adapted  to  the  more 
advanced  state  of  Greek  studies,"  was  among  Mr. 
Pickering's  last  labors,  and  will  serve  to  brighten  his 
highest  classical  honors.  Of  his  brilliant  success  in 
this  laborious  undertaking  my  own  judgment  is  of 
little  worth.  I  give  you  that  of  others.  An  eminent 
and  experienced  teacher  of  classical  learning  has  pub- 
licly declared,  that  "  this  legacy  to  American  scholars 
is  worthy  of  the  distinguished  author,"  —  and  that, 
"after  groping  amid  the  vagueness  and  confusion  of 
Donnegan,  it  is  truly  a  relief  to  turn  to  the  order, 
clearness,  and  precision  of  Pickering."  A  learned 
professor  of  the  highest  authority,  himself  the  author 
of  a  Greek  and  English  lexicon  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, has  pronounced  "  the  lexicon  of  Mr.  Pickering, 
in  its  present  shape,  to  be  the  best  extant  for  the  use 
of  colleges  and  schools  in  the  United  States,  —  for 
which,  indeed,  it  has  been  specially  prepared."  A 
third  eminent  Greek  scholar  has  told  the  world,  that 
what  Mr.  Pickering  undertook  to  do  in  this  great 
work  "  has  been  admirably  done."  * 

*  Note  G. 


64 

With  this  brief  and  very  imperfect  notice  of  Mr. 
Pickering's  classical  achievements,  we  proceed  to  the 
fifth  class,  comprising  his  publications  and  labors  relat- 
ing to  the  English  language  and  literature.  We  shall 
attempt  little  more  than  to  invite  attention  to  their 
great  variety  and  value.  He  spread  the  fruits  of  his 
various  erudition  over  the  country  vv^ith  unstinted  liber- 
ality, thinking  only  of  enriching  others  and  paying 
the  debt  w^hich  every  scholar  owes  to  humanity  and 
learning.  The  Monthly  Anthology^  the  North  Ameri- 
can, the  New  York,  the  American  Quarterly  Reviews, 
and  the  Annals  of  Education,  with  other  periodicals, 
as  well  as  the  daily  journals,  were  honored  by  the 
productions  of  his  pen,  —  productions  which,  however 
occasional  in  their  purpose  or  origin,  possess  that  in- 
trinsic merit  which  gives  them  a  permanent  interest, 
and  entitles  them  to  preservation  in  some  durable 
form.  We  trust  that  in  due  time  they  will  be  gath- 
ered up  and  presented  to  the  world  in  a  manner,  and 
with  a  biography,  worthy  of  the  author. 

In  all  Mr.  Pickering's  zeal  for  ancient  literature, 
he  never  lost  sight  of  his  native  tongue.  He  loved 
the  Greek  authors  ardently  for  their  incomparable  ex- 
cellence, but  he  valued  them  the  more  highly  as  be- 
ing the  best  models  of  writing  to  the  English  scholar. 
The  purity  and  improvement  of  the  English  language 
in  America  engaged  his  early  attention.  During  his 
residence  in  England,  he  began  the  practice  of  noting 
Americanisms  and  expressions  of  doubtful  authority, 


65 

and  as  he  continued  the  practice  after  his  return,  the 
collection  so  swelled  under  his  hands,  that  he  was 
induced  to  prepare  them  for  publication,  and,  in  1815, 
completed  the  Vocabulary,  which  formed  the  first  of 
his  learned  communications  to  the  American  Acad- 
emy. He  afterwards  republished  it,  with  additions, 
for  general  use;  and  though  he  regarded  it  but  as 
a  beginning,  yet  it  was  a  work  of  long  and  patient 
labor,  for  which  he  deserves  the  gratitude  of  every 
American  scholar.  The  work  attracted  attention  even 
in  Germany,  where  portions  of  it  were  translated  and 
published.  With  its  preface  and  introductory  essay, 
it  has  served  to  guard  the  purity  of  our  language  and 
literature.* 

Mr.  Pickering  had  the  same  general  design  in  his 
elaborate  and  learned  article  on  Johnson's  English 
Dictionary,  first  published  in  the  American  Quarterly 
Review,  for  September,  1828,  and  justly  considered 
as  one  of  his  most  interesting  and  useful  publications. 
Johnson  and  Walker  were  regarded  by  him  as  hold- 
ing the  first  rank  in  their  respective  departments  in 
England,  and  he  thought  them,  of  course,  entitled  to 
be  received  as  standard  authorities  by  the  lexicogra- 
phers and  orthoepists  of  America. 

His  excellent  article  on  "  Elementary  Instruction," 
published  in  the  North  American  Review,  deserves 
particular   notice    as  being   richly  imbued    with    his 

*  Note  H. 


66 

classical  and  philosophical  spirit,  and  as  containing 
hints  and  views  important  to  all  who  are  concerned 
in  the  work  of  education,  from  the  teacher  of  the  al- 
phabet up  to  the  head  of  a  college. 

The  "Lecture  on  Telegraphic  Language,"  which 
he  delivered  before  the  Boston  Marine  Society,  of 
which  he  was  an  honorary  member,  is  another  beau- 
tiful specimen  of  the  familiar  and  pleasing  application 
of  his  various  learning  to  the  useful  purposes  of  life. 

Mr.  Pickering's  eulogy  on  our  great  mathemati- 
cian, the  American  La  Place,  in  which  he  so  hap- 
pily traced  the  loftiest  efforts  of  philosophical  genius, 
was  alike  worthy  of  his  subject  and  of  himself,  and 
it  will  ever  rank  among  the  richest  treasures  of  the 
Academy  whose  Memoirs  it  adorns. 

But  we  must  hasten  to  the  sixth  class,  which  in- 
cludes Mr.  Pickering's  studies  and  labors  upon  the 
languages  of  the  American  Indians.  His  more  par- 
ticular attention  appears  to  have  been  drawn  to  this 
subject  in  1819,  by  the  publication  of  Mr.  Du  Pon- 
ceau's Report  to  the  American  Philosophical  Society, 
and  correspondence  with  Mr.  Heckewelder  upon  the 
Indian  languages  of  North  America.  The  extraordi- 
nary facts  disclosed  by  this  publication  kindled  Mr. 
Pickering's  enthusiasm.  Though  deeply  engaged 
upon  his  Greek  Lexicon,  he  could  not  resist  the  at- 
tractions of  this  new  field  of  labor,  so  suited  to  his 
genius  and  taste,  and  in  which  he  might  hope  to  ren- 
der such  important  service  to  science  and  learning. 


67 

He  stopped  not  to  inquire  how  profitable  the  employ- 
ment might  be  to  himself;  it  was  enough  to  feel  as- 
sured that  he  could  labor  successfully  in  extending 
the  boundaries  of  human  knowledge  and  advancing 
the  improvement  of  mankind.  He  immediately  wrote 
for  the  North  American  Review  an  able  article  upon 
Mr.  Du  Ponceau's  admirable  Report,  recommending 
it  in  the  strongest  terms  to  the  attention  of  the  learn- 
ed. In  this  article  he  expressed  the  hope  that  "  the 
Dictionary  of  the  dialect  of  the  Norridgewock  Ind- 
ians, composed  by  Father  Rasles,"  would  soon  be 
published  ;  and  he  also  suggested  "  the  necessity  of 
estabHshing,  by  common  consent  of  the  learned,  a 
uniform  orthography  of  the  spoken  languages"  of  the 
aborigines  of  America;  both  of  which  laborious  un- 
dertakings were  left  for  him  to  accomplish.  In  1820 
he  published  in  the  same  Review  another  ingenious 
and  learned  article  upon  Dr.  Jarvis's  Discourse  on 
the  Religion  of  the  Indian  Tribes  of  North  America ; 
which  attracted  the  particular  attention  of  Baron  Wil- 
liam Von  Humboldt,  of  Berlin,  who  thereupon  opened 
an  interesting  correspondence  with  Mr.  Pickering  on 
the  Indian  languages,  which  continued  without  in- 
terruption till  the  Baron's  death,  when  Mr.  Picker- 
ing's portion  of  the  correspondence  was  deposited  in 
the  library  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Berlin.* 

Among  the  most  arduous  of  Mr.  Pickering's  inces- 
sant labors  in  this  new  field  of  science,  and  also  the 

*  Note  I. 


68 

least  attractive,  except  from  a  view  of  their  utility, 
was  the  republication  of  Eliot's  Indian  Grammar,  and 
Edwards's  Observations  on  the  Mohegan  Language, 
with  introductions  and  notes.  He  used  to  speak  of 
the  former  as  a  German  labor,  and  so,  too,  it  was 
regarded  by  his  friend,  Mr.  Du  Ponceau,  who  thank- 
ed him  for  the  great  service  he  had  thereby  rendered 
to  the  cause  of  learning.  Various  other  ancient  works, 
relating  to  the  Indian  languages,  were  brought  into 
new  light  by  Mr.  Pickering's  unwearied  care.  He 
prepared  Roger  Williams's  Vocabulary  of  the  Narra- 
ganset  Indians  for  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  So- 
ciety, and  Cotton's  Vocabulary  of  the  Massachusetts 
Indians,  for  the  Historical  Society  of  this  State.  But 
the  greatest  work  of  this  description  which  he  un- 
dertook was  the  publication  of  Father  Rasles's  Dic- 
tionary, already  mentioned,  of  the  Norridgewock,  or 
Abnaki,  language,  with  an  introductory  memoir  and 
notes, — a  work  which  called  forth  expressions  of  ad- 
miration from  those  of  the  learned,  both  here  and 
in  Europe,  who  could  best  appreciate  the  severe  toil 
it  must  have  cost  him. 

The  elaborate  article  which  Mr.  Pickering  prepared 
for  the  Encyclopcedia  Americana,  on  the  Indian  lan- 
guages of  North  America,  is  as  scientific  as  it  is  com- 
prehensive, and  exhibits  the  extent  of  his  researches 
and  the  depth  of  his  learning  on  this  copious  sub- 
ject. It  was  translated  into  German  and  published 
at  Leipsic  with  marks  of  distinguished  honor. 


69 

The  able  and  spirited  articles  published  by  him 
in  the  New  York  Revieio,  in  1 826,  in  reply  to  an  ar- 
ticle in  the  North  American  Review,  which  had  un- 
justly assailed  the  philological  reputation  of  two  of 
his  most  distinguished  friends,  and  traduced  the  char- 
acter of  the  Indians  as  well  as  misrepresented  their 
dialects,  shows  with  what  vigor  he  could  wield  the 
pen  of  a  Junius,  when  truth  and  justice  demanded 
the  effort,  while  it  manifests  his  profound  and  fa- 
miliar knowledge  of  the  whole  subject. 

The  preparation  of  a  scheme  for  reducing  spoken 
languages  to  written  forms,  contained  in  his  "  Essay 
on  a  Uniform  Orthography  for  the  Indian  Languages 
of  North  America,"  communicated  to  the  American 
Academy  in  1820,  was,  perhaps,  of  all  his  labors,  the 
most  characteristic  of  his  philological  and  philosoph- 
ical genius  and  skill,  and,  in  its  practical  consequences, 
of  the  highest  interest  and  value.  While  it  facilitates, 
in  a  simple  and  beautiful  manner,  the  formation  of 
written  languages  and  the  study  of  comparative  phi- 
lology, it  affords  an  instrument  of  incalculable  advan- 
tage in  civilizing  and  Christianizing  the  barbarous 
nations  of  the  earth.  It  has  already  been  sufficiently 
tested  in  Africa,  and  especially  in  some  of  the  South 
Sea  islands,  as  well  as  among  the  North  American 
Indians,  to  rank  its  author  among  the  distinguished 
benefactors  of  mankind.* 

In  Mr.  Pickering's   learned  article  on  Adelung's 

•  Note  K. 


70 

Survey  of  all  the  Known  Languages  and  their  Dia- 
lects^ published  in  the  North  American  Review^  in 
1822,  he  represents  the  present  age  as  the  epoch  of 
a  new  science,  —  "the  comparative  science  of  lan- 
guages," which  is  to  be  studied,  "  as  we  study  other 
parts  of  human  knowledge,  by  collecting  facts,  —  by 
ascertaining  what  languages  there  are  on  the  globe, 
and  collecting  vocabularies,  or  specimens  of  them  all." 
According  to  his  estimate  of  the  number  of  dialects 
on  the  globe,  they  amount  to  about  four  thousand. 
Into  this  ocean  of  languages  he  plunged  too  deep 
for  me  to  follow  him.  I  lose  sight  of  him  entirely. 
I  cannot  fathom  his  research  or  enumerate  his  acqui- 
sitions. 

We  are  now  brought  to  the  seventh  class  of  Mr. 
Pickering's  literary  labors,  embracing  those  which  re- 
late to  comparative  philology  and  ethnography,  and, 
as  connected  therewith,  the  Oriental  languages,  in- 
cluding those  of  Africa,  Asia,  and  the  vast  extent  of 
islands  in  the  Pacific.  Here  a  field  was  opened  to 
him  wide  enough  for  the  employment  of  all  his 
strength  and  all  his  time,  could  he  have  devoted 
himself  to  it.  He  gave  himself  to  it,  as  far  as  he 
could,  with  untiring  zeal.  He  hunted  for  specimens 
of  unwritten  dialects,  with  as  much  ardor  as  Audubon 
hunted  for  those  of  unknown  birds ;  and  he  could  give 
them  forms  as  distinct,  if  not  as  beautiful.  He  had 
always,  indeed,  been  watchful  of  opportunities  to  col- 
lect materials  for  his  philological  investigations.  Hear- 


71 

ing,  once,  of  a  stranger  in  Salem  who  had  been 
among  the  Yaloffs  in  Africa,  he  sought  and  obtained 
from  him  facts  and  information  which  enabled  him 
to  study  the  interesting  language  of  that  people.  Ship- 
masters, and  even  common  sailors,  who  had  visited 
strange  lands,  might  be  sure,  not  only  of  a  welcome, 
but  of  assistance  from  him,  if  they  had  any  facts  or 
knowledge  to  communicate,  illustrative  of  the  inhabi- 
tants or  their  dialects.  The  publication  of  Holden's 
"  Narrative  "  of  his  captivity  and  sufferings  on  Lord 
North's  Island  affords  an  interesting  example  of  such 
assistance.  When  the  United  States  Exploring  Ex- 
pedition was  in  contemplation,  Mr.  Pickering  exerted 
all  his  influence  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  those  more  immediately  concerned  in  the 
undertaking,  to  "  the  various  native  languages  of  the 
different  tribes  of  people  that  might  be  visited  by  the 
expedition."  He  reminded  them  of  the  noble  exam- 
ple of  the  late  empress  of  Russia,  and  endeavoured  to 
stimulate  their  curiosity  and  interest  by  illustrating 
the  real  importance  of  "  this  department  of  knowl- 
edge," and  by  considerations  of  what  was  due  to  the 
scientific  reputation  of  our  country.  His  correspond- 
ence with  J.  N.  Reynolds,  Esq.,  in  1836,  on  this 
subject,  presented  his  own  enlightened  views  so  clear- 
ly, that,  if  they  were  duly  regarded,  w^e  cannot  doubt, 
from  the  high  reputation  of  the  young  philologist  who 
accompanied  the  expedition,*  that  results  have  been 

*  Horatio  Hale,  Esq. 


72 

attained  important  to  the  world  and  honorable  to 
America. 

The  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt  and  the  dialects  of  the 
South  Sea  islands  appear  to  have  excited  Mr.  Pick- 
ering's literary  enthusiasm  in  the  highest  degree. 
These  were  fascinating  topics,  which  he  was  never 
weary  of  investigating  or  discussing.  The  Chinese 
language  was  scarcely  less  interesting  to  him.  The 
new  views  of  this  language,  presented  to  the  world 
by  his  friend  Mr.  Du  Ponceau,  called  forth  an  able 
and  very  learned  article  from  his  pen  for  the  North 
American  Review^  in  1839,  which  was  seized  upon, 
as  other  of  his  works  had  been,  as  a  prize  to  British 
literature ;  and  well  might  British  writers  be  proud 
of  such  a  prize.*  The  sister  language  of  Cochin- 
China  (the  history  of  the  first  American  voyage  to 
which  country  was  given  to  the  public  through  his 
means)  was  illustrated  by  him  in  another  able  article, 
published  in  1841,  in  the  same  Review.  Both  arti- 
cles exhibit,  in  a  striking  manner,  his  familiarity  with 
the  profoundest  philological  speculations. 

But  I  need  only  point  your  attention  to  the  elo- 
quent address  delivered  by  him  before  the  American 
Oriental  Society,  at  their  anniversary  meeting  in  1843, 
—  a  society  of  which  he  was  the  soul  as  well  as  the 
head,  —  to  show  you  the  compass,  variety,  and  depth 
of  his  philological  erudition,  and  the  vast  extent  of 
his  views  and  plans  for  making  his  erudition  useful 

•  Note  L. 


73 

to  the  world.  The  leading  objects  of  this  society 
are  "  the  cultivation  of  learning  in  the  Asiatic,  Afri- 
can, and  Polynesian  languages,"  and  "  the  publication 
of  memoirs,  translations,  vocabularies,  and  other  works 
relative  to  these  languages."  Mr.  Pickering's  Memoir 
on  the  Language  and  Inhabitants  of  Lord  North^s 
Island,  presented  to  the  American  Academy  during 
the  last  year  of  his  life,  —  a  memoir  as  touchingly 
interesting  as  it  is  beautifully  written,  —  affords  am- 
ple evidence  of  the  noble  manner  in  which,  had  his 
life  been  spared,  he  would  have  performed  his  part 
in  this  great  literary  enterprise. 

But  I  must  forbear.  To  do  justice  to  Mr.  Pick- 
ering's learned  labors  would  require  abundant  time, 
with  a  genius  and  a  pen  kindred  to  his  own.  In 
the  cursory  view  we  have  taken  of  them,  many  of 
his  valuable  writings  have  been  wholly  overlooked; 
some  of  which  demand  at  least  a  respectful  allusion. 
Of  his  article,  in  the  New  York  Review,  upon  the 
elegant  History  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  it  is  suf- 
ficient praise  to  say  that  it  is  worthy  of  its  subject. 
The  comprehensive  Introductory  Essay  to  Newhall's 
Letters  on  Junius  gives  us,  in  a  more  concise  and 
pleasing  manner  than  is  elsewhere  to  be  found,  the 
history  and  literature  pertaining  to  the  Junius  con- 
troversy. His  biographical  sketches  of  Bowditch, 
Spurzheim,  Du  Ponceau,  and  Peirce,  published  in 
the  daily  journals,  are  marked  by  the  various  excel- 
10 


74 

lence  of  his  just,  delicate,  discriminating  pen.*  The 
mention  of  the  last-named  friend  reminds  us  of  the 
estimable  History  of  Harvard  University^  which  was 
left  unfinished  at  the  lamented  author's  death,  and 
completed  for  publication  by  Mr.  Pickering;  whose 
own  article  on  the  subject,  in  the  North  American 
Review^  contains  one  of  the  most  graphic  as  well  as 
most  just  views  which  have  ever  appeared  of  Harvard 
College. 

We  must  add  as  a  supplementary  or  eighth  class 
of  Mr.  Pickering's  works,  his  numerous  and  impor- 
tant letters,  addressed  to  various  learned  men  in  this 
country  and  in  Europe.  "For  many  years,"  says  a 
well-informed  friend,  "he  maintained  a  copious  cor- 
respondence on  matters  of  jurisprudence,  science, 
and  learning,  with  distinguished  names  at  home  and 
abroad ;  especially  with  Mr.  Du  Ponceau,  at  Phila- 
delphia; with  William  Von  Humboldt,  at  Berlin; 
with  Mittermaier,  the  jurist,  at  Heidelberg ;  with  Dr. 
Pritchard,  author  of  the  Physical  History  of  Mankind, 
at  Bristol  ;  and  with  Lepsius,  the  hierologist,  who 
wrote  to  him  from  the  Pyramids  in  Egypt."  t 

All  Mr.  Pickering's  writings  are  stamped  with  the 
excellence  of  his  clear,  simple,  graceful  style,  —  a 
style  unsurpassed  by  that  of  any  English  author  on 
similar  subjects.  With  proper  words  in  proper  places, 
and  bearing  the  polish  of  refined  taste,  it  yet  flows 

•  Note  M.  t  9  Law  Reporter,  66. 


75 

as  naturally  as  if  no  thought  or  labor  were  bestowed 
upon  it.  Almost  any  one  might  hope  to  write  in 
the  same  manner. 

"  Sudet  multum,  frustraque  laboret 
Ausus  idem." 
The  most  essential  purpose  of  language  is  always 
attained  by  Mr.  Pickering's  diction.  We  see,  at  once, 
the  ideas  he  would  express,  as  distinctly  as  we  be- 
hold material  objects  in  a  clear  sky.  Nor  was  his 
style  incapable  of  rising  to  an  impassioned  tone  of 
eloquence,  as  we  have  seen  on  one  occasion,  at  least, 
when  he  felt  called  upon  to  administer  a  suitable  re- 
buke to  philological  presumption.  His  indignation, 
if  roused,  could  flash  its  scorching  fires,  gentle  and 
benignant  as  was  his  whole  nature. 

But  Mr.  Pickering's  strongest  claims  upon  our  ad- 
miration and  gratitude  arise  from  the  exalted  spirit 
and  principles  which  actuated  him  in  all  his  works. 
No  selfish  ends  or  views  ever  appear ;  nothing  to  set 
off  his  powers,  or  to  gain  notoriety  ;  while  all  his  im- 
portant writings  are  imbued  with  his  rare  learning 
and  philanthropy,  and  conspire  to  establish  his  fame. 
He  spoke  from  his  inmost  heart,  when  he  reminded 
his  brethren  of  the  Oriental  Society,  in  the  elegant 
address  just  now  referred  to,  that  "to  be  beneficial 
to  our  fellow-men  "  is  "  the  great  end  of  all  our  in- 
tellectual labors."  He  spoke,  too,  from  his  own  deep 
experience,  when  he  declared,  that  "  steady,  unremit- 
ting labor  on  subjects  of  the  intellect,  like  untiring 


76 

labor  of  the  body  upon  physical  objects,  will  over- 
come all  obstacles."  We  see  his  own  high  aims  in 
the  "  incentives  "  which,  at  the  close  of  the  same 
address,  he  so  eloquently  urged  upon  his  literary  as- 
sociates, —  "  the  love  of  learning  for  its  own  sake,  — 
the  reputation  of  our  beloved  country,  to  whom  we 
owe  so  much,  and  whom  we  are  all  ambitious  of  el- 
evating to  the  same  height  to  which  other  nations 
have  attained  by  the  cultivation  of  learning."  Such 
was  the  lofty  character  of  his  literature  throughout 
his  long  career  of  laborious  study. 

Mr.  Pickering  enjoyed  excellent  health  till  some 
time  in  the  summer  of  1845,  when  he  experienced 
the  first  symptoms  of  a  fatal  disease.  Under  the 
severe  pressure  of  increasing  illness,  he  pursued  his 
studies,  and  attended  to  his  various  active  duties, 
while  he  had  any  bodily  strength.  His  mind  contin- 
ued clear  and  firm,  and  he  manifested,  during  all  his 
protracted  illness,  that  patience,  gentleness,  and  Chris- 
tian resignation,  which  perfected  the  example  of  his 
life.  He  died  on  the  fifth  day  of  May,  1846,  leav- 
ing a  widow,  an  only  daughter,  and  two  sons,  to 
mourn  their  irreparable  loss.* 

All  of  you.  Gentlemen,  had  the  happiness  to  know 
Mr.  Pickering  in  his  social  as  well  as  literary  charac- 
ter, and  need  not  that  I  should  speak  to  you  of  his 

*  Mrs.  Pickering  soon  followed  her  lamented  husband.  She 
died  on  the  14th  of  December,  1846. 


77 

kind  and  courteous  manners,  his  sweet  temper  and 
disposition,  his  benevolent  virtues,  the  richness  of  his 
conversation,  and  the  delight  which  his  society  af- 
forded. He  was,  as  jou  well  know,  a  man  univer- 
sally respected,  —  who  never  lost  a  friend,  and  never 
had  an  enemy ;  whom  once  to  know  was  always  to 
love  and  esteem. 

In  domestic  life,  he  was  all  that  could  be  wished ; 
and,  I  may  add,  all  that  could  be  imagined  in  amia- 
ble affections.  Wisdom  and  love  were  delightfully 
blended  in  his  whole  deportment. 

Brilliant  as  is  the  reputation  of  the  scholar  and 
the  author,  we  lose  sight  of  it  in  the  superior  ex- 
cellence of  the  man.  He  was,  indeed,  a  true  man. 
His  sensibilities  were  tender,  his  whole  organization 
delicate  and  susceptible,  yet  always  sound  and  health- 
ful, with  nothing  of  a  morbid  tendency  to  unfit  him 
for  the  active  duties  of  life.  Mild  and  gentle,  he  yet 
felt  keenly  and  quickly ;  and  with  all  his  patient  for- 
bearance, he  was  not  wanting  in  spirit  and  energy  to 
assert  his  rights.  He  had  a  true  enthusiasm,  without 
any  extravagance.  His  ardent  love  of  freedom  and 
justice,  and  his  abhorrence  of  tyranny,  in  all  its  forms, 
never  partook  of  fanaticism.  With  much  reserve  in 
expressing  his  religious  feelings,  he  was  profoundly 
conscientious,  and  lived  in  the  fear  and  the  love  of 
God. 

Truly  of  him  we  may  say,  with  Nature's  great 
poet,  — 


78 

"  His  life  was  gentle,  and  the  elements 
So  mixed  in  him,  that  Nature  might  stand  up. 
And  say  to  all  the  world,  Thw  was  a  many 

Christianity,  too,  might  rise  up  and  set  her  seal  of 
greatness  upon  him.  The  fundamental  law  of  Chris- 
tian greatness  he  nobly  fulfilled.  He  was,  in  the 
highest  sense,  "the  servant  of  all," — a  true  philan- 
thropist, the  benefactor  of  his  race.  His  profoundest 
erudition  and  his  severest  toil  were  ever  subservient 
to  the  good  of  mankind.     Usefulness  was  his  glory. 

Limited  as  our  view  of  Mr.  Pickering's  life  has 
necessarily  been,  we  have  not  failed  to  see  the  wide 
extent  of  his  active  and  beneficent  influence.  Our 
laws  as  well  as  literature  bear  the  impress  of  his  lu- 
minous mind.  Education  acknowledges  him  as  one 
of  her  most  efficient  friends.  We  have  seen  him  the 
teacher  of  teachers,  the  improver  of  authors,  the  en- 
lighten er  of  colleges,  the  pioneer  of  civilization,  afford- 
ing a  guiding  light  to  all  engaged  in  the  acquisition 
or  diffusion  of  knowledge,  from  the  humblest  pupil 
to  the  profoundest  inquirer,  from  the  classical  instruct- 
er  at  home  to  the  herald  of  Christianity  in  heathen 
lands. 

Some  men's  learning  is  kept,  as  a  standing  pool, 
for  their  own  undisturbed  gaze.  Mr.  Pickering's  was 
a  living  fountain,  gushing  out  in  every  direction,  fer- 
tilizing the  country  around.  Others  there  are,  who 
think  only  of  rearing  from  their  learning  a  monument 
to  themselves,  caring  little  for  the  world.     Mr.  Pick- 


79 

ering  thought  little  of  himself,  but  every  thing  of  the 
world.  So,  too,  in  the  use  of  wealth,  some  are  in- 
tent only  on  its  accumulation,  as  if  its  value  consisted 
in  its  bulk,  and  the  distinction  thereby  produced. 
Not  so  the  "  man  of  Ross."  He  spread  his  wealth 
wherever  he  could  make  it  most  productive  of  com- 
mon blessings.  Mr.  Pickering  was  the  man  of  Ross 
in  learning,  —  scattering  his  intellectual  treasures  ev- 
erywhere, as  they  were  needed  to  bless  his  fellow- 
men. 

"The  admirable  Pickering !  "  is  already  the  ex- 
clamation of  fervent  gratitude.*  Admirable  indeed  ; 
—  not  for  wonderful  talents  perverted,  or  for  dazzling, 
delusive  genius ;  but  for  fine  powers  finely  improved, 
and  for  noble  qualities  nobly  applied.  Admirable  for 
his  prodigious  industry  and  learning,  and  for  his  ster- 
ling integrity  and  goodness.  Admirable  as  a  scholar, 
as  a  jurist,  as  a  philologist,  as  an  explorer  of  truth,  as 
a  guide  to  wisdom  and  learning,  and  as  a  bright  ex- 
emplar of  virtue. 

Such  an  illustrious  benefactor  inspires  the  gratitude 
of  all  enlightened  men.  Throughout  this  western 
continent,  wherever  literature  and  science  have  their 
votaries,  his  memory  is  cherished.  That  distinguished 
American  writer,  now  in  France,  who  has  passed  his 
life  in  reflecting  the  light  of  letters  from  one  con- 
tinent to  the  other,  repeats  to  us,  with  his  own  exalt- 

*  Note  N. 


80     . 

ed  admiration,  the  voice  of  sympathy  and  of  eulogy 
from  the  literati  of  Europe.* 

The  memory  of  John  Pickering  will  live  through- 
out the  learned  world.  So  long  as  human  language 
exists  and  is  cultivated,  his  name  will  be  honored. 
If  he  sought  not  fame,  he  has  found  it  the  more  sure- 
ly, and  in  a  higher  degree.  His  precious  reputation 
rests  on  ground  as  solid  as  his  ambition  was  pure.  It 
will  extend  with  the  benign  influences  of  his  learn- 
ing, and  it  will  brighten  as  it  extends. 

When  will  the  people  at  large  learn  to  appreciate 
their  true  friends,  their  real  benefactors?  The  mili- 
tary or  political  idol  of  a  day  kindles  their  enthusiasm 
like  a  blazing  meteor,  which  glares  for  a  moment 
and  is  extinguished  for  ever.  Their  literary  admi- 
ration blindly  follows  brilliant  genius,  however  un- 
sanctified  by  virtue,  and  which  continues  its  baleful 
glare,  like  the  ignis  fatuus,  to  mislead  and  destroy. 
We  would  point  them  to  a  luminary  of  the  heavens, 
whose  clear  light  irradiates  the  path  of  human  duty 
and  human  improvement,  and  guides  surely  and  al- 
ways to  knowledge,  virtue,  religion,  and  happiness. 

•  Mr.  Walsh. 


NOTES    AND    ADDITIONS 


The  following  passages  are  from  a  letter  addressed  to  me 
by  a  classmate  and  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Pickering. 

"  A  love  of  knowledge  characterized  Mr.  Pickering  from  youth 
to  old  age.  Whatever  was  the  subject  of  his  attention,  he  ac- 
quired definite  conceptions  of  it,  and  these  he  fixed  in  his  memory. 
His  memory  was  exceedingly  retentive ;  partly  owing,  no  doubt, 
to  the  diligent  cultivation  of  it.  If  to  this  love  of  knowledge  and 
strong  memory  you  add  his  uncommon  diligence,  you  get  the 
principal  explanation  of  his  extraordinary  acquisitions.  It  is,  how- 
ever, to  be  added,  that  his  mind  was  of  a  truly  philosophical  or 
scientific  cast.  He  always  referred  phenomena  to  principles,  so 
far  as  he  could  ;  considering  how  far  they  went  in  support  or  in 
contradiction  of  principles  commonly  maintained.  His  views  of 
every  subject  were  comprehensive.  When  a  partial  discussion  had 
led  to  a  conclusion  satisfactory  to  common  minds,  he  would  bring 
forward  the  considerations  which  had  been  overlooked,  and  thus 
prevent  a  too  hasty  or  too  confident  decision.  I  can  remember 
this  trait  of  his  character  from  the  time  when  we  were  in  college. 

"  Mr.  Pickering  was  pure  in  heart.  Few  men,  if  any,  have  I 
known  as  much  so.  He  seemed  to  have  no  afl^inity  for  evil 
thoughts,  desires,  and  purposes.  They  found  no  harbour  in  his 
breast.  He  had,  as  I  believe,  a  true  and  sincere,  though  unosten- 
tatious, piety.     He  certainly  loved  man,  whom  he  had  seen.     He 

11 


82  . 

was  truly  benevolent.  To  children  he  showed  a  tender  care  and 
kindness.  He  was  peculiarly  liberal  to  all,  and  especially  to  the 
young,  who  were  seeking  to  get  knowledge.  And  let  it  be  noted, 
that  this  is  much  more  than  for  the  rich  man  to  be  liberal  in  the 
use  of  his  wealth.  Such  a  one  merits  great  praise,  surely  ;  yet  he 
gives  what  he  cannot  use  for  himself.  The  man  of  learning  does 
not,  indeed,  seem  to  deprive  himself  of  any  thing,  in  helping  the 
student.  His  own  knowledge  is  not  lessened  in  doing  it.  But  he 
cannot  impart  it  without  giving  his  time ;  and  this,  like  his  heart's 
blood.  Mr.  Pickering  would  patiently  attend  to  the  young  student, 
leaving  even  his  business  to  do  so ;  and  then  deprive  himself  of 
his  sleep  at  night  to  finish  his  business. 

"  The  conversation  of  such  a  man  must  be  full  of  instruction. 
It  was  most  agreeably  so.  I  think  I  may  say,  that,  for  fifty  years 
past,  I  have  never  spent  half  an  hour  with  Mr.  Pickering  in  which 
I  did  not  get  some  interesting  or  useful  information,  such  as  few 
men  could  give  me. 

"  In  his  manners  there  was  a  peculiar  polish,  improved,  un- 
doubtedly, by  his  intercourse  with  cultivated  people  abroad.  His 
manners  were  so  simple,  as  not  to  arrest  attention  at  first ;  but  so 
refined  and  finished,  as  to  bear  the  closest  scrutiny,  and  to  fit 
him  for  the  most  elegant  society.  He  manifested  in  them  the 
nicest  discrimination  as  to  persons.  Their  foundation  was  in  his 
good  heart  and  in  his  respect  for  the  pleasure  as  well  as  for  the 
rights  of  others." 


The  following  is  a  brief  extract  from  a  letter  addressed  to 
me  by  a  learned  scholar  and  divine,  alluded  to  in  the  discourse, 
who  was  intimately  associated  with  Mr.  Pickering  in  the  Amer- 
ican Oriental  Society. 

"  It  gave  me  a  great,  although  a  melancholy  pleasure,  when 
we  last  met,  that  you  should  request  me  to  recall  and  write  to 


83 

you  my  recollections  of  the  late  Dr.  Pickering.  I  think  it  was 
my  particular  senior,  the  late  Dr.  Joseph  McKean,  who  introduced 
me  to  our  departed  friend,  then  in  the  class,  as  you  know,  next 
above  us.  And  this  must  have  been  between  fifty-two  and  fifty- 
three  years  ago.  But  from  that  period  I  ever  entertained  toward 
him  the  most  respectful  esteem  and  regard,  and  have  shared  the 
privilege  of  his  friendship, — a  virtuous  friendship,  productive,  from 
its  commencement,  of  literary  and  moral  benefits.  His  acquaint- 
ance was,  -to  use  the  phrase  of  Waller  the  poet,  '  a  liberal  edu 
cation.' 

"  You  well  remember  his  gentlemanly  deportment  in  college. 
You  recollect,  too,  his  high  and  just  reputation  in  the  various 
branches  of  mathematical  science,  —  a  reputation  fairly  and  labo- 
riously earned.  But  he  deserves  remembrance  at  Harvard,  also, 
for  being  most  eflficiently  engaged  in  the  resuscitation  of  classi- 
cal literature.  That  was  at  a  very  low  ebb,  you  know,  in  the 
early  part  of  our  time  there. 

"  With  respect  to  the  extent  of  his  linguistic  acquirements, 
about  which  you  wished  me  to  inform  you,  I  really  am  not  able 
to  give  any  satisfactory  account.  I  think,  however,  I  can  recollect 
as  many  as  sixteen  languages  of  which  we  have  occasionally  con- 
versed, at  least.  Of  late  years,  the  Chinese,  in  two  or  three  of  its 
dialects,  had  engaged  my  lamented  friend's  attention ;  and  he 
gave  some  labor  to  the  Cochin-Chinese  ;  and  paid  great  attention 
to  the  progress  of  discovery  in  regard  to  the  Egyptian  hiero- 
glyphics. The  adaptation  of  his  system  of  expression  of  sounds 
by  our  own  alphabet  (of  which  he  published  a  Memoir  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  American  Academy)  excited  no  small  inter- 
est. Our  missionaries  adopted  his  views  in  reducing  to  writing 
that  dialect  or  derivative  of  the  Malay  which  is  spoken  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  having  effected  the  translation  into  it  of  the 
whole  Bible.  This  single  thing  is  highly  honorary  to  our  country ; 
and  I  have  wondered  that  so  little  has  been  said  respecting  it  by 
literary  men  among  us.     It  must  also  have  a  considerable  effect. 


84 

For,  as  the  languages  of  the  Pacific  are  mostly  of  Malay  origin, 
it  can  hardly  be  predicted  to  how  great  an  extent  the  influence 
of  it  may  reach* 

"  In  regard  to  ethnology,  his  attention  was  drawn  to  it  almost 
necessarily  by  the  rapid  progress  made  of  late  years  in  that  branch 
of  information.  Indeed,  living  as  he  had  done  in  the  midst  of  your 
Salem  merchants  and  intelligent  navigators,  — situated  as  he  was, 
in  connection,  on  the  one  hand,  with  the  Academy,  and  presiding 
in  its  researches,  the  results  of  which  became  familiar  to  him, — 
and  on  the  other,  no  inattentive  observer  of  the  progress  of  mis- 
sionary enterprise,  in  which  his  own  labors,  as  regards  the  phi' 
losophy  of  language,  were  brought  so  often  into  practical  oper- 
ation, —  ethnology  became,  of  necessity  almost,  a  subject  of  indis- 
pensable attention.  It  was  so  to  me ;  and  it  was,  therefore,  of 
course,  most  frequently  the  theme  of  our  conversations,  when  we 
could  pass  together  any  portion  of  our  much  occupied  time.  More 
especially  has  this  been  the  case  in  the  formation  and  progress  of 
our  American  Oriental  Society,  —  an  institution  happily  effected 
by  his  consent  to  become  its  President,  and  giving  it  his  valuable 
labors,  influence,  and  reputation.  How  it  can  live  and  flourish 
without  him  remains  still  to  be  seen,  although,  as  I  hope,  his  ex- 
ample will  have  given  an  impulse,  the  eflect  of  which  may 
continue. 

"  One  thing  should  be  remembered  in  respect  to  classical  lit- 
erature in  connection  with  the  late  Dr.  Pickering.  It  is  this ;  — 
his  attachment  to  that  literature  had  a  practical  object.  He  did 
not  become  a  critical  scholar  for  the  purpose  of  vaunting  his  ac- 
curacy in  taste,  acuteness,  or  memory.  He  was  ardently  and  pa- 
triotically desirous  of  raising  the  scholarship  of  his  country,  and 
qualified  himself,  and  was  preparing  means  for  others,  to  the 
accomplishment  of  that  end.  Hence  his  *  lingering  in  the  groves 
of  Academus,'  or  his  intimacy  with  tHe  ancient  '  votaries  of  the 
Muses,'  was  not  the  reminiscence  merely  of  youthful  attachment ; 
but,  turning  his  acquirements  into  a  channel  of  usefulness,  he  could 


85 

contemplate  them,  not  as  mementos  of  wasted  labor,  but  even  as 
fruits  of  enlightened  public  spirit. 

"  How  to  express  my  own  feelings  I  find  very  difficult.  Indeed, 
it  is  not  necessary.  You  know  his  moral  and  intellectual  worth, 
and  can  appreciate  its  value,  as  well  as  the  value  of  his  literary 
excellence.  His  was  a  rare  example  of  true  modesty  united  with 
distinguished  and  solid  merit,  of  unassuming  but  efficient  worth,  of 
gentleness  of  temper  joined  with  decision  of  character,  and  of  lib- 
eral study  blended  with  practical  usefulness,  good  learning  with 
sound  common-sense,  and  thorough  honesty  of  purpose  and  act ; 
and  I  may  add,  of  inflexible  integrity  in  private,  public,  and  polit- 
ical life."  * 


Aided  by  the  recollections  of  several  of  Mr.  Pickering's 
most  intimate  friends,  I  am  enabled  to  add  the  following  sketch, 
which,  in  the  absence  of  an  engraved  likeness,  I  am  sure,  will 
be  acceptable  to  all  his  friends. 

The  personal  appearance  of  Mr.  Pickering  was  striking.  It 
was  both  dignified  and  attractive.  His  stature  was  tall,  and  his 
form  rather  slender  than  stout,  but  well  proportioned  ;  yet  it  was 
the  expression  of  his  countenance,  and  the  fine  intellectual  cast 
of  his  features,  which  were  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of 
his  person.  The  form  of  his  face  was  oval,  with  a  remarkably 
high  and  ample  forehead.  His  mild,  clear,  hazel  eye  was  expres- 
sive of  the  gentleness  of  his  nature  and  the  vigor  of  his  intellect ; 
while  a  straight  nose,  slightly  inclining  to  the  Roman,  and  a  finely 
formed  mouth,  added  to  the  regularity  of  his  features.  The  ex- 
pression of  his  countenance,  when  in  repose,  was  grave  and 
thoughtful ;  but  his  eye  kindled  benignantly,  and  a  benevolent 
smile  played  upon  his  lips,  whenever  any  object  of  interest  came 

*  Rev.  Dr.  Jenks. 


86 

before  him.  It  was  this  peculiar  benignity  of  expression,  joined 
to  an  entire  freedom  from  the  slightest  assumption  of  superiority 
in  word,  look,  or  manner,  which  attracted  towards  him  the  young, 
and  those  who  were  seeking  relief  from  poverty  or  distress  ;  while 
the  intellectual  refinement  and  remarkable  dignity  of  his  personal 
appearance  and  manners  commanded  the  interest  and  respect  of 
persons  in  all  conditions  of  life. 


ANCESTORS  AND  FAMILY. 

The  following  additional  notices  may  be  interesting  to  many 
of  Mr.  Pickering's  friends. 

The  first-named  John  Pickering,  as  stated  in  Allen's  Biograph- 
ical Dictionary,  came  to  New  England  about  1630,  and  died  at 
Salem  in  1657.  "  February  7,  1637,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
privileges  of  an  inhabitant."  He  left  two  sons,  John  and  Jona- 
than. The  latter  died  in  1729,  at  the  age  of  90,  without  issue. 
John,  born  about  1637,  married  Alice,  daughter  of  William  Flint, 
and  died  May  5th,  1694,  leaving  his  wife,  Alice,  and  sons,  John, 
Benjamin,  and  William  (who  married  a  Higginson),  and  daughters, 
Elizabeth  (married  to  a  Nichols),  and  Hannah  (married  to  John 
Buttolph).  To  John  he  bequeathed  "Broad  Field  by  the  mill- 
pond,"  as  stated  in  Felt's  Annals  of  Salem  (whence  these  facts 
are  principally  taken),  who  states  also,  that  "  he  was  frequently 
of  the  selectmen,  and  a  capable,  enterprising,  and  public-spirited 
man."  The  third  John  Pickering  married  Sarah  Burrill  of  Lynn, 
and  died  June  19,  1722,  aged  64,  leaving  his  wife,  Sarah,  sons, 
Theophilus  and  Timothy,  and  daughters,  Lois  (married  to  Tim- 
othy Orne),  Sarah  (married  to  Joseph  Hardy),  and  Eunice  (mar- 
ried to  her  cousin,  William  Pickering).  "  He  was  selectman  and 
representative  in  the  legislature.  His  decease  was  a  loss  to  the 
community." 


87 

Timothy  Pickering  married  Mary  Wingate,  and  died  June  7th, 
1778,  aged  75,  leaving  his  wife,  Mary,  sons,  John  and  Timothy, 
and  daughters,  Sarah,  Mary,  Lydia,  Elizabeth,  Lois,  Eunice,  and 
Lucia;  all  of  whom  were  married  (except  John),  and  had  numer- 
ous descendants.     "  Deacon  Timothy  Pickering  sustained  princi- 
pal offices  in  town,  and  was  an   intelligent,  active,  and  useful 
man."     His  elder  brother,  Theophilus,  deserves  notice  as  one  of 
the  remarkable  men  of  his  time.     He  was  educated  at  Harvard 
College,  graduating  in  1719,  and  settled  in  the  ministry  in  that 
part  of  Ipswich  which  is  now  Essex.     He  was  remarkable  for 
his  bodily  strength,  mechanical  ingenuity,  and  theological  ability. 
Tradition  says,  that  a  certain  man,  who  had  the  presumption  to 
challenge  him  to  a  wrestle,  was  not  only  thrown  by  him  at  once, 
but  thrown  over  the  wall.     His  friends  thought  him  equally  suc- 
cessful against  some  of  the  New  Lights  of  that  day,  who  wrestled 
with  him  in  religious  controversy.     He  died,  unmarried,  at  the 
age  of  forty-seven.     The  seven  daughters  of  Timothy  Pickering 
were  married  as  follows :  Sarah,  to  John  Clarke  (parents  of  the 
late  Rev.  John  Clarke  of  Boston,  and  Mrs.  Francis  Cabot) ;  Mary, 
firsts  \o  the  Rev.  Dudley  Leavitt  (parents  of  the  late  Mrs.  Dr.  Jo- 
seph Orne,  Mrs.  William  Pickman,  and  Mrs.  Isaac  White,  whose 
daughter,  Sarah,  became   Mrs.   Pickering),  —  second^  to  the  late 
Chief-Justice  Nathaniel  Peaslee  Sargeant ;  Lydia,  to  George  Wil- 
liams (parents  of  the  late   Samuel  Williams,  consul,  &;c.,   Mrs. 
Pratt,    Mrs.  Lyman,  and    others)  ;   Elizabeth,  to   John  Gardner 
(parents  of  the  late  Samuel  P.  Gardner  and  Mrs.  Blanchard) ; 
Lois,  to  John  Gooll  (parents  of  Mrs.  Judge  Putnam,  who,  with  her 
widowed  mother,  once  formed  part  of  the  family  of  her  uncle, 
the  Hon.  John  Pickering)  ;  Eunice,  to  her  cousin,  Paine  Wingate, 
Senator  of  the  United  States  from  New  Hampshire  (parents  of 
George  Wingate,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in  1796,  and  other 
children) ;  Lucia,  to  Israel  Dodge  (parents  of  the  late  Pickering 
Dodge,  Mrs.  Stone,  Mrs.  Devereux,  and  others).     The  members 
of  this  family  were  remarkable  for  their  longevity.     Mrs.  Win- 


88 


gate's  age  a  little  exceeded  one  hundred  years,  and  her  husband 
was  for  some  years  the  oldest  surviving  graduate  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege. 

The  few  particulars  now  mentioned  may  be  sufficient  to  indi- 
cate these  wide-spreading  branches  of  the  Pickering  family. 

Colonel  Timothy  Pickering,  who  was  born  in  1745,  and  died 
in  1829,  married  Rebecca  White,  and  they  had  first  eight  sons, 
and  then  twin  daughters,  Mary  and  Elizabeth.  Their  eighth  son 
was  Octavius  Pickering,  well  known  as  a  reporter  of  decisions  of 
the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  of  Massachusetts.  Of  the  father,  whose 
exalted  character  as  a  patriot  and  statesman  is  indelibly  impressed 
on  the  history  of  his  country,  we  need  say  nothing  here,  except 
to  notice  one  of  his  most  gratifying  honors,  which  became  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  subject  of  our  ^logy.  Washington, 
on  retiring  from  the  presidency,  in  1797,  presented  Colonel  Pick- 
ering, his  fellow-soldier  and  friend,  with  a  splendid  piece  of  silver 
plate,  from  his  own  service,  as  a  memorial  of  his  cordial  esteem 
and  confidence.  This  treasure,  of  priceless  value,  was  bequeathed 
by  the  Colonel  to  his  son,  John,  and  by  him  to  his  daughter,  Mary 
Orne  Pickering.  May  it  always  find  possessors  equally  worthy  of 
such  a  treasure  ! 

Mr.  Pickering's  two  sons,  John  and  Henry  White,  graduated  at 
Harvard  University,  the  one  in  1830,  the  other  in  1831 ;  both  are 
happily  settled  in  Boston,  the  former  in  the  profession  of  the  law, 
the  latter  in  commercial  business.  The  proprietor  of  the  ancestral 
estate,  in  Salem,  is  still  John  Pickering. 


Note  A.     Page  42. 


Mr.  Pickering  was  a  representative  from  Salem  in  the  legislature 
of  Massachusetts,  in  1812  and  1813,  and  again  in  1826 ;  a  Sena- 
tor from  the  county  of  Essex  in  1815  and  1816,  and  from  the 


89 

county  of  Suffolk  in  1829,  and  a  member  of  the  Executive  Coun- 
cil in  1818.  He  received  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  in  1822,  from 
Bowdoin  College,  and,  in  1835,  from  Harvard  University.  The 
following  is  copied  from  the  Law  Reporter  already  referred  to. 

"  The  number  of  societies,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  of  which 
he  was  an  honored  member,  attests  the  wide-spread  recognition  of 
his  merits.  He  was  President  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts 
and  Sciences ;  President  of  the  American  Oriental  Society  ;  For- 
eign Secretary  of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society ;  Fellow  of 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society ;  of  the  American  Ethnolog- 
ical Society ;  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society ;  honorary 
member  of  the  Historical  Societies  of  New  Hampshire,  of  New 
York,  of  Pennsylvania,  of  Rhode  Island,  of  Michigan,  of  Maryland, 
of  Georgia ;  of  the  National  Institution  for  the  Promotion  of  Sci- 
ence ;  of  the  American  Statistical  Association ;  of  the  Northern 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  Hanover,  New  Hampshire;  of 
the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Legal  Knowledge,  Philadelphia ; 
corresponding  member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Ber- 
lin ;  of  the  Oriental  Society  at  Paris  ;  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences 
and  Letters  at  Palermo ;  of  the  Antiquarian  Society  at  Athens  ;  of 
the  Royal  Northern  Antiquarian  Society  at  Copenhagen  ;  and  titu- 
lar member  of  the  French  Society  of  Universal  Statistics." 


Note  B.     Page  47. 

The  Report  referred  to  was  made  to  the  Board  of  Overseers 
at  their  annual  meeting  in  January,  1841.  The  following  brief  ex- 
tract will  sufficiently  indicate  its  character. 

"  Superficial  observers,  who  measure  the  value  of  education  by 
its  direct  capacity  of  being  turned  into  money,  or  the  immediate 
supply  of  the  physical  wants  of  man,  and  not  by  its  moral  effects 
on  the  constituent  elements  of  human  society,  are  frequently  dis- 

12 


90 

posed  to  undervalue  some  of  the  departments  of  knowledge,  — 
particularly  ancient  literature,  —  which  have  always  been  cherish- 
ed, and  justly  so,  as  an  essential  part  of  the  university  course. 
Those  departments  of  study  are  too  often  stigmatized  as  antiquat- 
ed, and  not  adapted  to  the  *  spirit  of  the  age  ' ;  while  an  urgent 
call  is  made  for  what  is  designated  by  the  vague  and  undefined 
name  of  useful  knowledge.  Such  persons  seem  to  mistake  the 
true  purpose  of  a  university  education ;  which  is  not  to  qualify  a 
young  man  for  any  one  particular  profession  or  business,  but  to 
develope  the  powers  of  his  mind,  and  to  store  it  with  all  that 
general  information- in  science  and  literature  which  shall  be  real- 
ly useful  to  him,  by  its  permanent  influence  in  any  station  in  life." 


Note  C.     Page  48. 

In  the  Law  Reporter,  before  referred  to,  it  is  justly  said  of  Mr. 
Pickering,  "  that  he  was  a  thorough,  hard-working  lawyer,  for  the 
greater  part  of  his  days  in  full  practice,  constant  at  his  office,  at- 
tentive to  all  the  concerns  of  business,  and  to  what  may  be  called 
the  humilities  of  his  profession.  He  was  faithful,  conscientious, 
and  careful  in  all  that  he  did ;  nor  did  his  zeal  for  the  interests 
committed  to  his  care  ever  betray  him  beyond  the  golden  mean 
of  duty.  The  law,  in  his  hands,  was  a  shield  for  defence,  and 
never  a  sword  with  which  to  thrust  at  his  adversary.  His  prep- 
arations for  arguments  in  court  were  marked  by  peculiar  care ; 
his  brief  was  very  elaborate.  On  questions  of  law  he  was  learned 
and  profound,  but  his  manner  in  court  was  excelled  by  his  mat- 
ter. The  experience  of  his  long  life  never  enabled  him  to  over- 
come the  native,  childlike  diffidence  which  made  him  shrink  from 
public  displays.  He  developed  his  views  with  clearness,  and  an 
invariable  regard  to  their  logical  sequence  ;  but  he  did  not  press 
them  home  by  energy  of  manner  or  any  of  the  ardors  of  elo- 
quence. 


91 


"  His  mind  was  rather  judicial  than  forensic  in  its  cast.  He 
was  better  able  to  discern  the  right  than  to  make  the  wrong  ap- 
pear the  better  reason.  He  was  not  a  legal  athlete,  snuffing  new 
vigor  in  the  hoarse  strifes  of  the  bar,  and  regarding  success  alone  ; 
but  a  faithful  counsellor,  solicitous  for  his  client,  and  for  justice 
too.  It  was  this  character  that  led  him  to  contemplate  the  law 
as  a  science,  and  to  study  its  improvement  and  elevation.  He 
could  not  look  upon  it  merely  as  a  means  of  earning  money. 
He  gave  much  of  his  time  to  its  generous  culture.  From  the 
walks  of  practice  he  ascended  to  the  heights  of  jurisprudence, 
embracing  within  his  observation  the  systems  of  other  countries. 
His  contributions  to  this  department  illustrate  the  spirit  and  extent 
of  his  inquiries." 

Thus  was  the  law  the  laborious  as  well  as  honorable  business 
of  Mr.  Pickering's  life.  Literature,  however  intently  pursued,  was 
his  amusement,  his  delightful  recreation.  And  this  he  enjoyed 
chiefly  at  home  in  the  midst  of  his  family.  Besides  the  fine 
law  library  at  his  office,  he  had  at  his  house  a  large  miscella 
neous  one  of  choice  books  which  gratified  his  highest  wishes. 
But  his  love  for  books  did  not  seclude  him  from  society  or  from 
domestic  enjoyment.  The  claims  of  hospitality  as  well  as  of  his 
family  were  sacredly  regarded  by  him ;  and  when  these  encroached 
on  hours  which  he  had  assigned  to  some  favorite  pursuit,  the  early 
morning  and  the  late  evening  would  find  him  redeeming  the  time 
which  had  been  cheerfully  given  to  the  duties  of  social  and  domes- 
tic life.  His  extraordinary  faculty  of  abstraction,  the  readiness 
with  which  his  mind  could  turn  from  one  subject  to  another,  his 
unwearied  industry,  and  a  peculiarly  calm  and  happy  tempera- 
ment, all  united  in  enabling  him  to  accomplish  what  he  did  in  the 
conflicting  pursuits  of  literature  and  the  law. 


92 


Note  D.     Page  58. 

It  is  not  easy  to  give  a  just  impression  of  the  variety  and  extent 
of  Mr.  Pickering's  kind  and  gratuitous  services.  At  the  moment 
the  writer  was  engaged  upon  this  part  of  his  subject,  he  received 
a  letter  from  a  friend,  now  a  distinguished  author,  containing 
the  following  grateful  acknowledgment  of  assistance  afforded  to 
himself.  "  Mr.  Pickering,"  he  observes,  "  was  in  my  eye  the 
model  of  a  high-bred,  courtly,  and  refined  gentleman, —  profound, 
yet  unpretending.  I  have  gathered  much  wisdom  from  his  lips, 
as  well  as  his  writings  ;  the  first  compositions  I  ever  put  to  press 
were  revised  by  him."  Many  an  author  has  been  ready  to  ac- 
knowledge much  more  than  this,  and  with  equal  pleasure.  Mr. 
Pickering  might  have  justly  applied  to  himself  the  remark  which 
he  made  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Du  Ponceau,  that,  if  he  had  been 
ambitious  to  claim  all  that  he  was  entitled  to,  "  he  might  in  num- 
berless instances  have  said,  in  the  spirit  of  the  Roman  poet, — 
Hos  ego  versiculos  feci ;  tulil  alter  honoresy 

In  the  pursuits  of  the  young  student  Mr.  Pickering  always  man- 
ifested a  lively  interest,  and  the  young  were  strongly  attracted  to 
him.  With  some  of  the  gifted  students  of  our  University  he  main- 
tained a  literary  correspondence.  Among  those  of  them  who  have 
passed  away  may  be  named  Samuel  Harris,  with  whom,  many 
years  ago,  he  corresponded  on  the  Hebrew  and  other  learned  lan- 
guages, and  whose  untimely  death  deprived  the  country  of  one 
who  promised  to  be  an  accomplished  Oriental  scholar. 

We  must  not  omit  all  notice  of  one  of  the  most  laborious  of  Mr. 
Pickering's  undertakings  in  this  class  of  services.  Not  long  before 
his  removal  to  Boston,  a  protracted  series  of  arduous  and  perplex- 
ing duties  was  imposed  upon  him  as  chairman  of  a  committee 
"  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  practicability  and  expediency  of 
establishing  manufactures  in  Salem."     His  elaborate  and  able  re- 


9$ 


port  on  the  subject  was  published  in  1826,  and  affords  striking  evi- 
dence of  his  practical,  as  well  as  his  intellectual,  talents. 

A  more  characteristic  instance  of  generous  service  occurs  to 
our  recollection,  which  deserves  mention  as  manifesting  his  ever 
vigilant  attention  to  the  interests  of  learning.  He  promoted  and 
prepared  an  ably  written  memorial  to  Congress,  from  the  principal 
citizens  of  Salem,  in  1820,  for  the  reduction  of  duties  on  the  im- 
portation of  certain  foreign  books.  It  was  the  first  presented  to  the 
government  on  that  subject,  though  followed  by  others  from  various 
learned  bodies,  the  object  being  considered  important  to  the  cause 
of  literature  and  science  in  the  United  States. 


Note  E.     Page  58. 

Mr.  Pickering,  in  his  Address  before  the  American  Oriental 
Society,  observes,  "  that  the  various  new  sources  of  information 
which  modern  perseverance  and  zeal  have  opened  to  us  have  ma- 
terially extended  the  boundaries  of  a  liberal  education  ;  and  it  has 
become  indispensable  to  unite  with  our  Greek  and  Roman  a  por- 
tion of  Oriental  learning.  If  there  were  no  other  motive  for  the 
pursuit  of  this  branch  of  knowledge,  there  would  be  a  sufficient 
one  in  the  fact,  that  the  great  parent  language  of  India,  the  San- 
scrit, is  now  found  to  be  so  extensively  incorporated  into  the  Greek, 
Latin,  and  other  languages  of  Europe,  and,  above  all,  in  those 
which  we  consider  as  peculiarly  belonging  to  the  Teutonic  or 
German  family,  that  no  man  can  claim  to  be  a  philologist  without 
some  acquaintance  with  that  extraordinary  and  most  perfect  of  the 
known  tongues." 

In  the  Law  Reporter,  before  referred  to  (p.  62),  it  is  stated 
(doubtless  within  bounds),  that  Mr.  Pickering  "  was  familiar  with 
the  French,  Portuguese,  Italian,  Spanish,  German,  Romaic,  Greek, 
and  Latin ;  was  well  acquainted  with  the  Dutch,  Swedish,  Danish, 


94 

and  Hebrew ;  and  had  explored,  with  various  degrees  of  care,  the 
Arabic,  Turkish,  Syriac,  Persian,  Coptic,  Sanscrit,  Chinese,  Co- 
chin-Chinese, Russian,  Egyptian  hieroglyphics,  the  Malay  in  sev- 
eral dialects,  and  particularly  the  Indian  languages  of  America  and 
of  the  Polynesian  islands." 

Of  late  years,  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  possessed  for  Mr. 
Pickering  a  fascinating  interest.  The  history  of  the  Egyptians, 
from  the  era  of  Herodotus  down  to  the  latest  discoveries  of  Lep- 
sius,  would  have  enlisted  his  enthusiasm  as  a  lover  of  literature 
and  science  ;  yet  it  was  in  connection  with  his  cherished  pur- 
suit, the  study  of  languages,  that  the  hieroglyphical  inscriptions 
enchained  his  attention,  —  speaking,  as  they  do,  through  the  me- 
dium of  Champollion's  interpretation,  a  language  older  than  all 
others  by  the  long  interval  of  ages. 


Note  F.     Page  61 


Mr.  Pickering's  memoir  On  the  Pronunciation  of  the  Greek 
Language  was  hailed  by  the  Greeks  "  as  a  vindication  of  their 
national  honor  "  ;  and  Asopius,  a  learned  Greek  (a  poet  and  pro- 
fessor at  the  University  of  the  Seven  Islands),  was  so  much  grat- 
ified by  reading  it,  that  he  sent  Mr.  Pickering  a  copy  of  one  of  the 
best  specimens  of  Romaic  literature,  as  a  token  of  his  gratitude. 

The  North  American  Review,  for  June,  1819,  contains  a  pro- 
found and  very  learned  article  upon  this  Memoir,  which  the  schol- 
ar who  is  curious  in  Greek  literature  will  find  exceedingly  inter- 
esting. 


Note  G.    Page  63. 

As  we  wish  to  give  a  just  view  of  the  character  and  merits  of 
Mr.  Pickering's  great  work,  we  adduce  here  some  passages  from 


95 

several  of  the  numerous  other  critical  notices  of  it  which  have  ap- 
peared in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  which  extol  it  in  the 
same  high  tone  of  commendation  as  those  before  referred  to. 
"  Liddell  and  Scott's,"  it  is  said,  "  is  the  only  work  now  extant 
that  can  come  in  competition  with  Pickering's."  And  it  is  added, 
—  "  We  do  not  hesitate  to  give  the  preference  to  Pickering's,  be- 
cause we  regard  it  as  better  suited  for  use  in  colleges  and  schools." 
Mr.  Pickering  himself,  in  the  Preface  to  his  Lexicon,  speaks  of 
Liddell  and  Scott's  as  "  a  most  valuable  and  important  acquisition 
to  all  who  wish  to  study  Greek  critically."  He  was,  indeed,  the 
last  man  to  depreciate  the  literary  works  of  another.  But  his  ob- 
ject was,  to  make  the  best  lexicon  for  the  students  of  Greek  gen- 
erally. This,  for  our  country,  appeared  to  be  the  desirable  object. 
Those  comparatively  few  scholars  who  pursue  their  Greek  studies 
to  great  extent  and  exactness  v^ill  of  course  supply  themselves  with 
various  lexicons.  That  Mr.  Pickering  succeeded  in  his  object  is 
abundantly  manifest. 

A  learned  professor  (who  speaks  to  us  through  the  Hampshire 
and  Franklin  Express)  says  of  Mr.  Pickering's  Lexicon :  —  "  The 
recent  edition  is  a  new  work,  restudied  and  rewritten,  with  the  aid 
of  all  the  best  works  of  the  kind  which  European  scholars  have  so 
multiplied  during  the  interval  of  ten  or  fifteen  years  which  have 
elapsed  since  the  appearance  of  the  first.  And  irrespective  of 
national  preferences  and  grateful  recollections,  all  prejudices  apart, 
it  is  a  work  of  vast  labor,  great  learning,  excellent  judgment,  and 
elegant  taste ;  it  is,  as  we  have  said,  in  its  kind  and  for  its  use,  a 
finished  work.  It  is  not,  of  course,  as  full  and  complete  as  its 
larger  rival ;  though,  on  some  points,  —  as,  for  instance,  the  prep- 
ositions and  particles, —  it  will  bear  a  favorable  comparison  in  re- 
gard to  completeness.  In  the  discriminating  and  felicitous  trans- 
lation of  many  and  difficult  passages,  it  is  without  a  rival.  The 
quantities  of  the  doubtful  vowels  are  marked  with  great  care  and 
accuracy.  The  derived  tenses  of  the  verb  are  exhibited  in  distinct 
articles,  much  to  the  convenience  of  the  young  student.     It  illus- 


96 

trates  the  words  and  idioms  of  the  New  Testament  more  fully  than 
any  other  lexicon  of  the  classic  Greek  now  in  use.  In  short,  it 
accomplishes  what  it  professes  to ;  and  to  enumerate  its  excellen- 
cies were  but  to  repeat,  as  real  and  splendid  achievements,  what 
are  set  forth  as  modest  claims  in  the  editor's  Preface." 

"  Of  all  Greek  lexicons  which  have  hitherto  appeared,"  says 
another  competent  judge  (through  the  Connecticut  Weekly  Re- 
view), "  we  think  Pickering's  will  be  most  useful  to  all  classes 
of  students.  It  will  be  the  lexicon  for  the  school-desk,  and  for 
the  collegian's  study ;  and  it  will  be  especially  prized  by  the  teach- 
er who  wishes  thoroughly  to  capacitate  himself  to  communicate  to 
others  a  critical  knowledge  of  this  ancient  language  by  the  sim- 
plest method.  It  is  sufficiently  copious,  and  has  evidently  been 
prepared  with  great  care.  We  give  it  our  unqualified  recom- 
mendation." 

A  long  list  of  similar  testimonials  might  be  given,  but  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  add  one  more,  taken  from  a  recent  number  of  the  Chris- 
tian Examiner,  and  evidently  proceeding  from  a  high  source. 

"  The  lexicon,  in  its  present  form,  is  in  every  respect  an  excel- 
lent one.     It  does  great  honor  to  the  ability,  unwearied  industry, 
and  vast  attainments  of  its  author.     It  is  particularly  adapted  to 
the  range  of  Greek  works  studied  in  the  schools  and  colleges  of 
the  United   States ;   and  American  editions  of  the  classics  have 
been  specially  referred  to.     It  is  well  suited  to  the  younger  schol- 
ars, inasmuch  as  it  conains,  in  alphabetical  order,  the  oblique  cases 
and  the  principal  dialectical  or  unusual  forms  of  anomalous  nouns, 
adjectives,  and  pronouns,  and  the  principal  tenses  of  anomalous 
verbs.     But  Mr.  Pickering  did  not  limit  his  task  to  this  special  ob- 
ject.    He  used  all  the  aids  which  the  recent  works  in  philology 
and  lexicography  published  in  Europe,  particularly  in  Germany, 
furnished  him.     Besides  the  contributions  of  Dunbar,  and  Liddell 
and  Scott,  Mr.  Pickering  diligently  consulted  the  work  of  Passow, 
both  in  the  original  German  edition,  and  in  the  new  one  edited  by 
Rost  and  Palm,  the  lexicon  of  Jacobitz  and  Seidler,  the  excellent 


97 

one  of  Pape,  those  of  Schneider  and  Riemer,  besides  numerous 
lexicons  and  verbal  indexes  to  particular  authors,  and  the  new  Paris 
edition,  not  yet  completed,  of  Stephens's  Thesaurus.  Besides  these 
lexicographical  works,  Mr.  Pickering  availed  himself  of  special 
treatises  on  the  various  branches  of  Hellenic  antiquities.  It  is  suf- 
ficient to  mention  Boeckh  on  the  Puhlic  Economy  of  Athens,  and 
Platner  on  the  Attic  Process,  both  of  which,  while  explaining  the 
financial,  political,  judicial,  and  other  problems  growing  out  of 
the  history  of  the  Athenian  commonwealth,  have  at  the  same  time 
supplied  important  materials  for  the  lexicographer.  Mr.  Picker- 
ing's professional  learning  has  been  of  great  assistance  to  him  in 
that  portion  of  the  lexicon  which  contains  the  technical  terms  of 
Athenian  law  and  the  administration  of  justice.  We  have  found 
his  lexicon  excellent  for  the  Attic  orators.  Indeed,  we  have  some- 
times found  words  in  it  which  are  wanting  in  the  larger  work  of 
Liddell  and  Scott.  Mr.  Pickering's  definitions  are  concise  and 
exact ;  and  though  his  plan  did  not  admit  of  a  full  historical  de- 
velopment of  every  word,  upon  the  principles  partially  carried  into 
effect  by  PassoWj  yet  the  reader  of  Greek  literature  will  rarely 
turn  away  unsatisfied. 

"The  work  is  very  handsomely  and  accurately  printed.  It 
extends  to  1456  pages,  with  three  columns  on  a  page,  containing 
thus  a  vast  amount  of  matter,  with  a  remarkable  economy  of  space. 
It  is  in  every  respect  a  very  convenient  and  desirable  book.     F." 


Note  H.     Page  65. 

The  following  passage  from  the  learned  article  in  the  North 
American  Review,  on  Mr.  Pickering's  memoir  of  the  Greek  lan- 
guage (referred  to  in  a  preceding  note),  contains  an  allusion  to  his 
Vocabulary,  with  its  title  given  at  length.  We  therefore  adopt  it 
here. 

13 


98 


"  The  author  of  this  memoir  is  not  a  mere  scholar.  Like  others 
of  his  countrymen  who  have  deserved  well  of  letters,  he  has  been 
obliged  to  prosecute  his  studies,  *  not  in  the  soft  obscurities  of  re- 
tirement, or  under  the  shelter  of  academic  bowers,'  but  amidst 
the  inconveniences  and  distractions  of  public  life,  and  the  fa- 
tigues of  his  honorable  profession.  He  is  already  well  known  to 
our  readers  as  the  author  of  a  Vocabulary  of  Words  and  Phrases 
which  have  been  supposed  to  he  Peculiar  to  the  United  States  of 
America.  To  which  is  prefixed  an  Essay  on  the  Present  State  of 
the  English  Language  in  the  United  States.  And  having  thus 
done  no  little  service  to  American  literature,  he  is  the  first  to  call 
the  attention  of  scholars  in  this  country  to  the  proper  pronunciation 
of  the  Greek." 


Note  I.     Page  67. 


"  If,  indeed,"  says  Mr.  Pickering,  in  his  review  of  Dr.  Jarvis's 
Discourse,  "  our  only  motive  in  the  study  of  languages  were  to 
repay  ourselves  by  the  stores  of  learning  locked  up  in  them,  we 
should  be  poorly  rewarded  for  the  labor  of  investigating  the  Indian 
dialects  ;  but  if  we  wish  to  study  human  speech  as  a  science,  just 
as  we  do  other  sciences,  by  ascertaining  all  the  facts  or  phenom- 
ena, and  proceeding  to  generalize  and  class  those  facts  for  the 
purpose  of  advancing  human  knowledge  ;  in  short,  if  what  is  called 
philosophical  grammar  is  of  any  use  whatever,  then  it  is  indispen- 
sable to  the  philologist  of  comprehensive  views  to  possess  a  knowl- 
edge of  as  many  facts  or  phenomena  of  language  as  possible ; 
and  these  neglected  dialects  of  our  own  continent  certainly  do 
offer  to  the  philosophical  inquirer  some  of  the  most  curious  and 
interesting  facts  of  any  languages  with  which  we  are  acquainted." 

"  Until  within  a  few  years  past,"  he  observes,  in  his  memoir  on 
a  uniform  orthography  for  the  Indian  languages  of  North  Amer- 
ica, "  these  neglected  dialects,  like  the  devoted  race  of  men  who 


99 

have  spoken  them  for  so  many  ages,  and  who  have  been  stripped 
of  almost  every  fragment  of  their  paternal  inheritance  except  their 
language,  have  incurred  only  the  contempt  of  the  people  of  Eu- 
rope and  their  descendants  on  this  continent ;  all  of  whom,  with 
less  justice  than  is  commonly  supposed,  have  proudly  boasted  of 
their  own  more  cultivated  languages  as  well  as  more  civilized 
manners." 

"  Mr.  Du  Ponceau,"  says  Mr,  Pickering,  in  his  review  of  the 
Dissertation  on  the  Nature  and  Character  of  the  Chinese  System 
of  Writing,  "  was  the  first  writer  who  took  a  comprehensive  view 
of  the  languages  of  the  whole  continent,  and  established  the  gen- 
eral conclusion,  that  the  American  dialects,  from  one  extremity 
of  the  continent  to  the  other  (with  perhaps  some  exceptions),  form 
a  distinct  class  or  family ;  which,  from  their  highly  compounded 
character,  he  has  happily  designated  by  the  term  poly  synthetic. 
Now  these  complex  American  dialects  are  at  one  extremity  of 
the  series  or  chain  of  human  languages ;  while  at  the  other  we 
find  the  very  simple  and  inartificial  language  of  China  ;  these  two 
extremes,  when  contrasted  with  each  other,  presenting  this  extra- 
ordinary phenomenon,  that  the  savage  tribes  of  the  New  World, 
though  destitute  of  all  literature  and  even  of  written  languages,  are 
found  to  be  in  possession  of  highly  complex  and  artificial  forms 
of  speech,  —  which  would  seem  to  be  the  result  of  cultivation,  — 
while  in  the  Old  World,  the  ingenious  Chinese  who  were  civilized 
and  had  a  national  literature  even  before  the  glorious  days  of 
Greece  and  Rome,  have  for  four  thousand  years  had  an  extreme- 
ly simple,  not  to  say  rude  and  inartificial,  language,  that,  according 
to  the  common  theories,  seems  to  be  the  infancy  of  human  speech. 
This  phenomenon  well  deserves  the  consideration  of  the  philo- 
sophical inquirer,  and  especially  of  those  speculatists  who  have 
assumed  a  certain  necessary  connection  between  what  is  consid- 
ered the  refined  or  artificial  state  of  a  language  and  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  human  race." 

In  reference  to  "the   able   and  philosophical  investigations  of 


100 

Mr.  Du  Ponceau,  and  the  interesting  work  of  his  experienced 
and  worthy  fellow-laborer,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Heckewelder,"  Mr.  Piclc- 
ering,  in  his  memoir  just  now  mentioned,  says :  —  "  For  my  own 
part,  I  acknowledge  that  they  have  occasioned  my  taking  a  deeper 
interest  in  this  apparently  dry  and  barren  subject,  than  I  would 
have  believed  to  be  possible  in  any  one,  however  devoted  he  might 
be  to  philological  pursuits ;  and  I  have  in  consequence  been  for 
a  time  allured  from  old  and  favorite  studies,  to  which  I  had  intend- 
ed to  allot  the  whole  of  that  little  leisure  which  I  could  spare 
from  the  duties  of  my  profession." 

The  original  manuscript  of  the  dictionary  of  Father  Rasles  or 
Rale  (for  his  name  is  spelt  both  ways)  was  found  among  his  pa- 
pers after  his  death  in  1724,  and  came  into  the  possession  of  Har- 
vard College.  "  Of  all  the  memorials  of  the  aboriginal  languages 
in  the  Northern  Atlantic  portion  of  America,"  observes  Mr.  Pick- 
ering, in  his  introductory  memoir,  "the  following  Dictionary  of 
the  Abnaki  language  (or  Abenaqui,  as  it  is  often  called,  after  the 
French  writers)  is  now  among  the  most  important."  Mr.  Pickering 
spared  no  labor  in  its  publication.  It  may  be  found  in  the  first 
volume,  new  series,  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  American  Academy^ 
extending  over  more  than  two  hundred  quarto  pages. 

Of  "  the  printed  books  relating  to  these  languages,"  adds  Mr. 
Pickering,  "  the  wonderful  work  of  Eliot, '  the  apostle,'  I  mean  his 
entire  translation  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  his  Gram- 
mar of  the  Massachusetts  Indian  language,  are  in  every  respect 
the  most  remarkable."  Mr.  Pickering's  admirable  republication 
of  this  grammar  was  entitled,  —  "A  New  Edition  with  Notes  and 
Observations,  by  Peter  S.  Du  Ponceau,  LL.  D.,  and  an  Introduc- 
tion and  Supplementary  Observations  by  John  Pickering."  It  first 
appeared  in  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Collections.  So  also 
did  the  "  New  Edition,  with  Notes  by  John  Pickering,"  of  Dr. 
Edwards's  Olsenmtions  on  the  Mohegan  Language. 


101 


Note  K.     Page  69. 

Those  who  feel  an  interest  in  the  subject  will  not  fail  to  recur  to 
Mr.  Pickering's  beautiful  philosophical  essay  On  the  Adoption  of  a 
Uniform  Orthography  for  the  Indian  Languages  of  North  Amer- 
ica, contained  in  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Ameri- 
can Academy.  Its  perusal,  indeed,  would  in  most  minds  create  an 
interest,  if  one  is  not  already  felt. 

Professor  Robinson,  in  his  Biblical  Researches  in  Palestine, 
&c.  (Vol.  I.,  p.  X.),  upon  stating  that  the  Syrian  mission  at  Jeru- 
salem had  adopted  "  the  system  proposed  by  Mr.  Pickering  for 
the  Indian  languages,"  observes  :  — "  Two  motives  led  to  a  pref- 
erence of  this  system ;  first,  its  own  intrinsic  merits,  and  facility  of 
adaptation ;  and  secondly,  the  fact,  that  it  was  already  extensively 
in  use  throughout  Europe  and  the  United  States,  in  writing  the 
aboriginal  names  in  North  America  and  the  South  Sea  islands ;  so 
that,  by  thus  adopting  it  for  the  Oriental  languages,  a  uniformity 
of  orthography  would  be  secured  among  the  missions,  and  also 
in  the  publications  of  the  American  Board." 

After  referring  to  the  "  Essay,  &c.,  by  John  Pickering,"  Pro- 
fessor Robinson  adds :  —  "  The  Indian  languages  of  North  Amer- 
ica and  of  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  have  mostly  been  reduced  to 
writing  according  to  this  simple  system." 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  languages  which  have 
been  reduced  to  writing,  on  the  principles  of  Mr.  Pickering's  sys- 
tem, by  missionaries  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  and  in  which  books  have  actually  been  printed  : 
—  the  Greybo  and  Gaboon,  in  Africa;  the  Hawaiian,  Sandwich 
Islands;  the  Choctaw,  Creek,  Osage,  Pawnee,  Seneca,  Abenaquis, 
Ojibwa,  Ottawa,  Sioux,  and  Nez  Perces,  North  America, 


102 


Note  L.     Page  72. 

Mr.  Pickering,  in  his  biographical  notice  of  Mr.  Du  Ponceau, 
thus  describes  the  new  views  presented  in  his  Dissertation  on  the 
Nature  and  Character  of  the  Chinese  System  of  Writing.  "  He 
published  a  few  years  ago  a  work  unfolding  new  views  of  the 
remarkable  language  of  China,  which  has  been  long  enveloped 
in  almost  as  much  mystery  as  the  hieroglyphic  system  of  ancient 
Egypt.  Not  agreeing  with  those  who  held  the  opinion,  that  the 
Chinese  language  is  ideographic^  that  is,  that  the  written  charac- 
ters denote  ideas  of  things,  and  do  not  represent  spoken  words,  — 
so  that  different  nations  of  the  East  could  understand  each  other  by 
the  writing,  when  they  could  not  by  speaking,  —  just  as  the 
Arabic  numerals  are  understood  alike,  for  example,  by  a  French- 
man and  Englishman,  when  written,  though  not  when  spoken,  — 
contesting  this  opinion,  we  say,  Mr.  Du  Ponceau  boldly  assumes  the 
position,  that  the  Chinese  must  be  like  other  languages,  and  that 
the  written  characters,  or  words,  represent  spoken  words  or  sounds, 
as  in  all  the  languages  of  Europe.  The  sinologists  of  the  Old 
World  are  acquainted  with  his  book,  but  are  not  prepared  to  adopt 
his  views,  though  some  of  them  are  silently  making  use  of  his  ter- 
minology, and  so  far  give  countenance  to  his  results.  Yet,  if  he 
is  wrong,  and  if  the  language  of  the  Chinese  is  not  like  other  lan- 
guages of  the  human  race  in  the  particular  in  question,  the  fact 
will  present  a  more  extraordinary  phenomenon  than  any  of  the 
extraordinary  characteristics  hitherto  known  of  that  singular  peo- 
ple." 

Having  reviewed  this  important  work  immediately  after  its  pub- 
lication, with  the  profoundest  attention  to  the  subject,  Mr.  Picker- 
ing naturally  felt  much  curiosity  to  observe  in  what  manner  Mr. 
Du  Ponceau's  new  and  striking  views  of  the  Chinese  language 
would  be  received  by  European  scholars.  "  Knowing  the  force 
of  the  opinions  which  have  been  maintained  by  them  for  more 


103 


than  two  centuries,  respecting  the  language  of  the  singular  peo- 
ple of  the  '  Celestial  empire,'  we  were  prepared,"  say  the  North 
American  Reviewers,  in  their  article  on  the  Cochin-Chinese  lan- 
guage, "  for  a  total  dissent  from  the  doctrines  of  our  learned  au- 
thor, if  not  a  positive  and  direct  attempt  to  refute  them."  "  When 
we  saw  announced  in  the  contents  of  that  long-established  and  able 
journal,  the  London  Monthly  Review,  for  December,  1840,  an 
article  expressly  upon  this  work,  we  felt  no  little  impatience  to 
see  the  article  itself,  which  we  had  understood  to  be  highly  com- 
mendatory of  Mr.  Du  Ponceau's  work,  and  in  perfect  coincidence 
with  his  views.  Upon  opening  the  London  journal,  what  was  our 
astonishment  to  find,  at  the  first  glance,  that  the  review  was  taken 
from  our  own  article  ;  and,  upon  a  closer  comparison,  to  discover, 
that,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  paragraphs  (which  in  their  orig- 
inal form  had  American  badges  attached  to  them),  the  entire 
London  article  was  a  reprint,  without  any  acknowledgment,  from 
our  own  pages  !  " 


Note  M.     Page  74. 
PETER  S.  DU  PONCEAU,  LL.  D. 

A  few  passages  from  Mr.  Pickering's  interesting  notice  of  the 
life  and  character  of  his  most  distinguished  literary  and  personal 
friend  cannot  be  out  of  place  here.*  They  were  doubtless  first 
attracted  to  each  other  by  their  rare  erudition,  but  their  friendship 
was  cemented  by  that  purity  of  heart  and  delicacy  of  taste  and  of 
feeling  in  which  they  so  entirely  sympathized.  Their  correspond- 
ence, which  was  commenced  in  1818,  and  terminated  only  by 
death,  was  as  intimate  and  delightful  as  it  was  learned. 

Mr.  Du  Ponceau  died  in  April,  1843.    "  To  the  writer  of  this 

*  First  published  in  the  Boston  Courier,  April  8, 1843. 


104 

notice,"  says  Mr.  Pickering,  "  for  whom  he  had  long  cherished 
an  affection  almost  parental,  his  death  is  an  irreparable  loss ;  a 
long-tried  friend  and  counsellor  is  no  more  !  " 

"  Mr.  Du  Ponceau  was  born  on  the  third  day  of  June,  1760, 
in  the  Isle  of  Re,  which  lies  a  few  miles  from  the  coast  of  La 
Vendee,  in  France."  His  philological  genius,  like  Mr.  Pickering's, 
discovered  itself  very  early,  and  in  his  case  appears  to  have  de- 
termined his  lot  in  life.  "  As  the  smallest  circumstances  in  the 
history  of  such  minds  as  his,"  continues  Mr.  Pickering,  "  cannot 
but  be  interesting,  we  will  here  add,  —  we  have  heard  him  state, 
that,  while  a  child  of  only  six  years  of  age,  his  curiosity  to  know 
something  of  the  English  language  was  intensely  excited  by  his 
accidentally  meeting  with  a  single  torn  leaf  of  an  English  book, 
in  which  he  discovered  the  strange  letters  k  and  w^  —  for  such 
they  were  to  a  child  who  had  never  seen  them  in  any  book  in  his 
own  language  ;  and  this  circumstance,  trifling  as  it  may  appear, 
first  directed  his  attention  to  our  language.  At  that  time.  General 
Conway,  who  was  afterwards  somewhat  conspicuous,  during  the 
American  Revolution,  as  a  member  of  the  British  House  of  Com- 
mons, had  the  command  of  a  regiment  stationed  in  the  Isle  of 
R4,  and,  being  struck  with  the  remarkable  points  of  character 
in  a  child  of  so  tender  an  age,  and  with  his  aptitude  for  the  study 
of  languages,  obligingly  took  pains  to  instruct  him  in  English  ; 
and  such  was  his  progress,  that  in  a  very  short  time  he  was  able 
to  read  Milton,  Shakspeare,  and  other  English  classics,  whose 
works  are  far  beyond  the  grasp  of  ordinary  youthful  minds.  As 
he  proceeded,  he  became  so  delighted  with  the  great  English  mas- 
ters, that  he  never  afterwards  acquired  a  truly  national  fondness 
for  the  poetry  of  France." 

When  the  well-known  Baron  Steuben  was  in  Paris,  on  his 
way  to  the  United  States  to  join  the  American  army,  and,  "  being 
unacquainted  with  the  English  language,  was  making  inquiries  for 
some  young  man,  who  could  speak  English,  to  accompany  him 
as  his  secretary,  he  was  informed  of  young  Du  Ponceau,  who  hap- 


105 

pened  then  to  be  in  Paris,  and  an  arrangement  was  made  with 
him  accordingly.  We  recollect,"  adds  Mr.  Pickering,  "  to  have 
heard  Mr.  Du  Ponceau  say,  that,  at  that  time,  though  he  had  never 
been  out  of  France,  he  understood  and  could  speak  English  as 
perfectly  as  he  ever  could  afterwards." 

"  Mr.  Du  Ponceau  left  Paris  in  the  suite  of  Baron  Steuben  for 
the  United  States,  fired  with  the  ardor  of  youth,  and  full  of  zeal 
in  the  cause  of  American  liberty,  which  he  ever  fondly  cherished. 
He  landed  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  on  the  first  day  of 
December,  1777,  an  event  in  his  life  which  he  often  alluded  to 
with  lively  interest." 

"  At  the  close  of  the  war,  he  had  fixed  his  mind  on  the  profes- 
sion of  the  law,  —  and  many  years  did  not  elapse  before  he  attain- 
ed the  first  rank."  —  "  His  purity  of  purpose,  incorruptible  integ- 
rity, and  independence,  never  sufiered  him,  during  periods  of  the 
highest  political  excitement,  to  deviate  from  the  sacred  duty  of  a 
faithful  legal  adviser,  even  when  pressed  by  the  almost  irresistible 
influence  of  national  feeling  or  partisan  principles,  or  —  what  in 
our  own  time  is  a  still  stronger  stimulant  —  the  corrupting  lure  of 
political  advancement." 

"  During  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  after  he  had  acquired  a  com- 
petent fortune  by  his  profession,  he  devoted  most  of  his  time  to 
his  favorite  study  of  general  philology,  a  science  which  has  em- 
ployed the  first  intellects  of  the  Old  World,  from  the  time  of  the 
great  Leibnitz  to  that  of  the  late  illustrious  Baron  William  Hum- 
boldt in  our  own  time  ;  and  there  can  be  little,  if  any  doubt,  that 
the  labors  of  Mr.  Du  Ponceau  in  that  noble,  but  boundless  field, 
have,  among  the  profound  scholars  of  Europe,  contributed  more 
to  establish  our  reputation  for  solid  erudition  than  those  of  any 
other  individual  in  this  country." 

Mr.  Du  Ponceau  most  heartily  reciprocated  the  admiration  en- 
tertained of  him  by  Mr.  Pickering,  whom  he  regarded  as  an  honor 
and  an  ornament  to  his  country,  and  often  alluded  to  the  high 
estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  first  philologists  and  eth- 


106 


nographers  of  the  Old  World,  —  the  Humboldts  and  the  Prichards, 
who  sought  and  appreciated  his  correspondence. 


Note  N.    Page  79. 

"  In  contemplating  the  variety,  the  universality,  of  his  attain- 
ments, the  mind  involuntarily  exclaims,  *  The  admirable  Picker- 
ing ! '  He  seems,  indeed,  to  have  run  the  whole  round  of  knowl- 
edge." 

"  The  death  of  one  thus  variously  connected  is  no  common 
sorrow.  Beyond  the  immediate  circle  of  family  and  friends,  he 
will  be  mourned  by  the  bar,  amongst  whom  his  daily  life  was 
passed ;  by  the  municipality  of  Boston,  whose  legal  adviser  he  was  ; 
by  clients  who  depended  upon  his  counsels ;  by  all  good  citizens, 
who  were  charmed  by  the  abounding  virtues  of  his  private  life ; 
by  his  country,  who  will  cherish  his  name  more  than  gold  or  sil- 
ver ;  by  the  distant  islands  of  the  Pacific,  who  will  bless  his  labors 
in  every  written  word  that  they  read ;  finally,  by  the  company  of 
jurists  and  scholars  throughout  the  world."  —  9  Law  Reporter, 
pp.  61,  66, 


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